It Starts as a Summer
by breannatala
Summary: A Snape adopts Harry fic. 12 year old Harry is abandoned when the Dursleys go on vacation and Snape is persuaded to take harry in. From there, everything slowly changes. IN PROGRESS. Temp. Hiatus so I can finish planning and rewrite parts of the story
1. Left Alone

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: This is one of the two (three?) fanfics I'm working on right now. The other is "It's Mutual", which is a Severitus Fic. I'm also working on another one, but I don't know if I'm going to post that one just yet. It's a Harry Potter/Animorphs crossover, but I don't know if I'll have time to update it regularly. This fan fiction and "It's Mutual" will both be update on a regular basis.**

**Chapter 1 – Left Alone**

"Yeah, I'll see you guys next summer, if not sooner! Don't forget to write!" said a 12 year old Harry on Platform nine and three quarters.

"Of course, mate!" shouted Ron, walking backwards while doing so. Fred and George saw this, of course, and took the opportunity to trip Ron, which only made Harry laugh. He really liked the Weasleys. He'd give anything to have a family like that. Ron, Fred, and George told Harry on the way to London about the trip to Egypt that they were taking. He was happy for his friends, of course, but their trip made him depressed. He never got to go on any of the family vacations with the Durselys, so he never knew what they were like.

"Bye, Harry," Hermione said, giving Harry a quick hug. "Take care of yourself, now, and don't get into trouble!" Harry laughed again. Of course Hermione would say that!

"Don't worry, Hermione. I'll be fine. Well, as fine as one can be with the Dursleys." Hermione gave Harry a sympathetic look as she, too, walked off with her parents. Hermione had said earlier that they were planning on going to the States for the summer; probably New York. Harry sighed while he crossed the barrier between the muggle King's Cross and the wizard's.

He looked around for his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, but he didn't see them. Pushing the luggage trolley, Harry walked over to one of the benches and sat waiting, hoping they'd come soon.

An hour later, Harry started to get really worried, especially since King's Cross was almost entirely empty. _I hope they haven't forgotten about me_, he thought.

It wouldn't be the first time they forgot about Harry. One time, when he was nine, he was outside doing chores. He heard the Dursley's car leave, and when he went to the front of the house to see what was going on, the car was already halfway down Privet Drive. Harry only shrugged and went back to his chores, assuming they went to a film or dinner or something. It wasn't until he was finished with his outside chores and tried to get inside did he realize something was wrong.

All the doors were locked, and the Dursleys didn't come back that night. In fact, the threesome didn't come back for three days. He ended up having to sleep in the tool shed where the gardening tools were. Water wasn't a problem, because he had the watering hose, but he didn't have anything to eat for the entire time.

Of course, three days without food wouldn't have bother Harry much, normally. Three days was his usual punishment, and it was about every week in which Harry did something that got him in trouble. The problem was, though, that it was actually six days that he had to go without food, because the day the Dursley's left, Harry was on the third day of his punishment.

The young wizard sighed at the memory. The Dursleys came back on the third day, and it seemed they didn't even realize that Harry was locked out. Getting up with the intention of looking for his Uncle, Harry walked straight into someone.

"Not watching where you are going, Mr. Potter, isn't a very smart thing to do. Of course, what else could you expect from a _Gryffindor_?" Harry gulped and looked up. It was no other then the nasty potions professor at Hogwarts, Snape.

"Sorry, Professor Snape," Harry started, but didn't go on, not knowing what else to say.

"What are you still doing here, Potter? The train arrived over an hour ago."

"Er. . . I'm waiting for my uncle to pick me up, sir." Snape raised an eyebrow at Harry and he flinched. He really didn't like Snape. Harry thought that there was a possibility that Uncle Vernon was nicer than Snape. It was really too close to tell, though. "They probably didn't know what time to come," Harry added quickly, trying to get away from his professor. He made a grab for his trolley when Snape grabbed his arm to stop him.

"All families were owled with the time, Potter." Harry looked down.

"Maybe they didn't get it," Harry said, trying to convince himself more than Snape, his voice slightly cracking from trying not to cry. "They don't like owls." Snape glared at the small boy through slitted eyes. It really was a poor excuse. Snape was about to say something when Harry caught the sight of his uncle out of the corner of his eye.

"Boy! What have I told you about talking to strangers?" bellowed the man, Dudley trailing behind him with a evil smirk on his face. Harry was about to apologize when Snape interrupted him.

"Mr. Dursley, I presume? I am not a stranger to Mr. Potter," he said. "I am a professor at Hogwarts." Vernon's face started getting purple with anger. "I was leaving the station when I noticed that young Potter here hadn't left yet."

"Come on, boy," Vernon said with anger, glaring at the potions master. Harry quickly grabbed his stuff off the trolley, trying to dragged his trunk quickly and carrying Hedwig's cage without harming the owl, while Mr. Dursley and Dudley both walked back to the car empty handed. Snape watched this scene, not knowing whether to be amused or irritated.

Severus Snape traveled immediately to the muggle flat that he kept in London in case of emergencies and contacted Headmaster Dumbledore through the floo.

"Hello, Severus. In London, I assume?"

"Yes. I am on my way now, but first I must tell you something. I met a certain Harry Potter at King's Cross waiting for his family. They arrived an hour late, Albus. Probably of no importance, but you said to keep you updated on anything we find out."

"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore said, thinking. "How long will this errand take?"

"About two weeks. No longer, I am sure." The Headmaster nodded.

"Severus, my child, after your errand, I would like you to check up on Harry, make sure he is alright. I would have someone else do it, but you are in the area. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

"Albus, I rather not. You know I do not like the boy."

"Yes, which is why I would send you instead of Minerva. Since she never wanted him there, I fear she would take him out of there for no reason," Dumbledore chuckled. "Please. There is probably a good reason they were late, but I would like to make sure." Snape sighed.

"Fine, I will check on the boy. But that is all that I will do," he conceded reluctantly, only because he knew he wouldn't win against the old man.

"Thank you, Severus. I will see you in two week." Snape nodded, then left the flat.

"So you brought one of those freaks back with you, eh?" Dursley said when they were back in the house on Privet Drive.

"No, Uncle. He just showed up. He was probably going home," Harry answered.

"Don't talk back!" the uncle shouted at the young wizard, slapping the boy in the face with the back of his hand. Harry just stared, stunned more than hurt. They have never hit him before! "If I ever see you with another one of your freaks, you will be even more sorry than you will be after I am done with you today." He paused to allow Harry to let what he was saying sink in. Harry stared wide-eyed at his uncle and what he was implying, scared. Not knowing what else to do, he started to back up, but ended up running into the door to his broom closet.

"No, I don't think so, boy," Vernon said sadistically, grabbing Harry's upper arm, dragging him upstairs to Dudley's second bedroom. Inside, he slammed the door shut and threw Harry onto the ground. When he attempted to get up, Dursley kicked him down again. Scared, Harry just stayed on all fours as he heard his uncle taking off his belt.

Harry wanted to run, but knew that if he avoided punishment from his uncle, it would only be worse next time. He waited for the hit, but when it didn't come, he took the chance of looking behind him. Big mistake. Dursley grabbed his upper arm again, then ripped Harry's shirt off over his head in one big movement. Harry flinched when he was thrown on the floor again.

The young wizard thought he was ready for the pain that awaited him. He lived through the pain of Quirrel touching him _and_ the bite of the basilisk. He wasn't ready, though, so when the first lash came, Harry screamed out.

"Quiet, boy! You will take your punishment without sound!" Harry squeezed his mouth and eyes shut, but every time the belt hit his bare back, he whimpered, which only made the whipping worse. What seemed like forever later, Harry blacked out.

Harry woke up, and all he felt was pain. Remembering the events of before, Harry attempted to move and groaned. It hurt _way_ too much to move. Instead, he stayed on his back and looked around. He was in Dudley's second bedroom. Knowing he wasn't going to go anywhere, Harry willed himself back to sleep.

Five days later, Harry was back to doing his usual chores: cooking, cleaning and gardening. Right now he was gardening. It was extremely hot out, hot enough that most people were staying inside, but Harry wasn't allowed to take a break in the shade. Instead, every time he dried off, he doused himself with water from the gardening hose to keep cool. As long as he was dry before he entered the house, the Dursleys didn't care.

He finished the garden before nightfall, but unfortunately, not before dinner, so Harry was forced to go without dinner yet again. The twelve year old shook his head as he entered the house, wishing the school year was still on. _At least he didn't hit me again_, he thought, relieved.

Harry was about to go upstairs to the room he slept in, when Vernon Dursley called him.

"Boy! Come here," he bellowed, and Harry obeyed. "Tomorrow, we will be going away for a while. You will not be allowed out of the house, and you will _not_ answer the phone or the door. Tomorrow you will get a list of things you must finish before we return. If you don't finish, you will be _punished_," Vernon spat wickedly. "If you contact any of your fellow freaks, you will also be punished. Am I clear, boy?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry replied, confused. They were leaving his here alone? For how long? He wanted to know, but didn't dare to ask. Of course, they've left him alone before, but it was usually only for a weekend, and then they would just lock him in Dudley's second bedroom, or his closet when he was younger, and tell him to behave. Was it because he was older now?

"Go, boy," spat the man, and Harry hurried up the stairs, wondering what was going on. They obviously were going to be gone for longer than a weekend if they weren't locking him up somewhere. But how long?

Back in the bedroom, Harry went to Hedwig's cage. His uncle padlocked the cage closed, so he couldn't let her out, and she was very restless. Harry was glad that they allowed her in his room, but he wondered where they put his trunk. It wasn't in his cupboard under the stairs like last summer and Harry didn't know where else to look.

Pushing his trunk from his mind, Harry thought ahead to the next day. The more he thought about it, though, the more excited he got. He wasn't going to have to see the Dursleys for a while! Sure, he'll probably have more cleaning to do than he would be able to finish in time, but he wouldn't have to have anyone on his back tormenting him, at least for a short time. And, he'll be able to eat whenever he wanted.

The next morning, Harry awoke to pounding on his door.

"Boy! Get up! We're leaving!" his uncle bellowed outside his door. Harry was up immediately, but his brain wasn't fully functioning just yet. He took a few more seconds to wake up, then went downstairs. Automatically, he went to the kitchen, but was surprised to see that his relatives already ate. He could tell because there was three dirty plates waiting for him to clean them on the table. Harry sighed and went into the living room looking for someone to explain what was happening.

Just as he entered the living room, his aunt, uncle and cousin came in from the outside, looking very happy.

"Okay, boy. Remember what we told you yesterday. Here's the list of chores you must have done before we return. If I find out you have disobeyed any of the rules, you will be punished. Understand?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry answered, then the trio left, leaving Harry behind, alone in the house. Harry took a quick glance through the curtained windows and saw that his relatives were taking a cab to where ever they were going. He sighed and looked at the list his uncle tossed at him:

- Clean the cupboard under the stairs

- Clean the chimney

- Scrub all floors, walls, and ceilings

- Dust all surfaces

- Clean basement

- Wash all dishes

That was only the first few items on the list. Harry looked down the entire thing and shook his head. He only hoped that the Dursleys would be gone long enough to finish it. Deciding he was hungry, Harry quickly made to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He was startled to find how little was in there.

There was a quarter package of bacon, three eggs, four apples, and a bottle of ketchup on the shelves. There was other things, of course, but they looked to Harry to be spoiled. Harry shook his head and opened the freezer. There was nothing in there but ice on the sides. _How do they plan on me living on this_? It was only about four days worth of food, and Harry had a feeling his relatives were going to be gone longer than that. _Okay, so I'm going to have to conserve it._

Harry looked down at his list again, and saw that cleaning out the refrigerator was one of the tasks. _I might as well do that first, since I'm here._ So he skipped eating, deciding he'll wait until he was extremely hungry, and started on the refrigerator.

It didn't take long to throw out the spoiled food and move all the other food to the top shelf. He grabbed a bucket from under the sink and filled it with soapy water so he could clean out the box. Before he got started, he opened the freezer door to let the ice soften.

An hour later, the refrigerator was spotless and the freezer ice-less. Hungry and tired from working so much without eating, Harry sat down hard in one of the kitchen chairs, trying to build up energy. When he thought he was well enough, a few minutes later, Harry decided to get the kitchen finished. The sooner he got everything done, the sooner he could do nothing.

The next week passed slowly. Harry, not wanting to get punished, did his work as quickly and completely as possible. He had finished the kitchen, his cupboard, upstairs, and the basement. All he had to do was the living room, which included the chimney.

He was also extremely hungry. Since he had to conserve the food, he only ate a few pieces of bacon a day, part of a fruit, and he had one of the eggs two days ago.

Harry looked around the living room and tried to think of what to do first. He decided the chimney was probably the best bet because he'd probably end up messing up the floor while attempting the chimney. He went to the basement where he found the tools to clean it and went back upstairs and set himself on his new mission.

Severus Snape walked down the street to Arabella's home. He finally finished his errand and had to check up on the Potter brat before he headed home, but he decided to stop by at the squib's house first to see if she knew of the boy's recent whereabouts. Dumbledore informed Severus earlier that Arabella often watched over the boy when his relatives were away.

When Severus got to her house, he knocked on the door and waited. Almost immediately the door was opened.

"Severus! I'm glad you came. You look terrible! When was the last time you eaten? Come in, dear child." Snape rolled his eyes at the old lady's ramble, but entered and allowed himself to be seated in front of the fire. "Now, you are here about Harry, correct?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Severus answered.

"Oh, Severus. I don't know why you don't like the child. He really is sweet. I'm surprised at how sweet he has stayed over the years, with how they treat him." Severus shook his head.

"The boy is a spoiled brat with no consideration for others. He revels in the idea of being in the center of attention."

"Oh, Severus, if you only knew," Arabella said so quietly Severus was almost unable to hear. "Well, I'm glad you are here. I am unable to check up on the boy because the Dursley might suspect something, but I'm afraid something has happened. I know Harry is home, but I haven't seen the Dursleys for the past week. I'm afraid they've left him there alone."

"He's twelve. Don't they leave him with you when they go somewhere?"

"Usually. I do know that they have left him alone for weekends before, but I haven't been able to do anything but watch out for him."

"They have probably just been inside. I am sure there is nothing to worry about."

"I hope you are right, Severus. Will you stop by and tell me how it is after you are done?" Severus sighed.

"Alright. But I'm sure nothing is wrong."

"Would you like something to eat before you go?"

"No, I will find food later," he answered, leaving, and Arabella rolled her eyes at the man's stubbornness. Walking down Privet Drive, Severus smirked at the neatness of the neighborhood. He was one who liked organization and precision, but the neatness here was almost sickening.

Finally he reached Number Four and he studied the house. There was a car in the driveway, but the house seemed pretty dead. The curtains were drawn in every window, so it was impossible to tell if there was any movement inside the house. _I guess I have no choice but to knock_, he thought with disgust, remembering the attitude of the man who picked up Potter from King's Cross.

Severus made his way up the path to the front door and knock reluctantly. When he got no answer, he knocked again. Still no answer. He put his ear to the door, and there definitely was movement coming from inside. _So why is no one answering_? Once again, Severus knocked on the door hard from annoyance.

Then it came to him. If the boy _was_ here alone, he was probably told to not answer the door. Sighing, Severus took out his wand and unlocked the door magically, then opened it just has a small figure fell to the ground. The boy was up immediately, though, poised to run if necessary. That in itself was odd for the Gryffindor Golden Boy. Another thing that was odd for the boy was that he was covered in soot.

"Potter, what are you doing?" Severus asked the boy, who relaxed very slightly when he recognized who it was.

"Cleaning the chimney, sir," the boy answered. "What are you doing here?" he asked suspiciously, tensing up again.

"I have come to check up on you. Not by choice, mind you," sneered the professor. "I was asked to by Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Why?"

"That is none of your business, Potter," he answered, but the boy looked at Severus doubtfully. "Where are your relatives? I would like to speak with them." Potter seemed to become nervous at the question, but Severus just raised an eyebrow at him, daring him not to answer.

"There aren't here."

"And where are they?" Potter shrugged.

"I don't know sir," Harry answered, not knowing what else to say. He knew his uncle will be mad if he finds out that Snape was here. He didn't know when his relatives were coming home, and they could pull up any moment.

"Then I will wait until they arrive," his professor stated. Harry just stared at his professor standing in the doorway. If Snape was here, especially in the house, when they came back, Harry was going to be in big trouble.

"I don't think . . ." he started.

"You do not have a choice, Potter. I will be speaking to your aunt and uncle." Harry just glared at his teacher and went back to his chimney. He didn't want Snape to watch him, but he wanted to finish it before his uncle got home. He didn't want to be whipped with the belt again, and he was sure that was to be his punishment if he didn't finish his chores.

When the boy went back to cleaning the chimney, Severus walked into the room, sighing. _No manners at all_, he thought, closing the door behind him. He watched the boy for a few minutes, glad that Potter was given chores to do. _At least his relatives aren't blinded by the boy-who-lived_.

Deciding that this wasn't a detention, Severus left the boy to his work and looked around the house. He started upstairs. The first room was a bathroom, in perfect shape. Absolutely nothing looked to be out of place. The next room looked to be the master bedroom. Once again, it looked as if it wasn't even lived in, it was so neat and clean. The next room wasn't a neat. It looked as if a young boy lived in it, but by the pictures on the wall, it seemed to be a muggle boy. Guessing it was Potter's cousin's room, he went on to the final room on the floor. It was pretty bare, with nothing but a bed and a dresser.

Severus guessed this room was Potter's, but only because the boy's owl was in a cage on top of the dresser. Looking closely, he noticed the locks on the cage and shook his head. That was no way to treat an owl, but he had a bad feeling that it wasn't Potter's choice. He heard from Minerva and Hagrid that the boy loved the owl. He walked over to the cage, magically unlocked in and let the bird out. It few out immediately, and nipped friendly at Severus. He shooed him away, but didn't let it outside. It _was_ a muggle town in the middle of the day.

Severus left the room, disgusted. There was no way that could be the Golden Boy's room. _It must be a guestroom_, he thought, making his way down the stairs quietly. _His room must be on the ground floor._ At the bottom of the stairs, he turned into the kitchen, not at all surprised to find that it too was spotless. Not seeing another door, he went back into the hallway to check those rooms. Another bathroom and a room that was definitely a guestroom.

The wizard was now more than a little disturbed. He expected to find a room decked out with Gryffindor colors and posters of quidditch players lining the walls. There was nothing but the owl to indicate that Harry Potter lived in this house. Not even any of the pictures on the wall and mantle piece had the boy in them. Shaking his head, he went back to the kitchen, planning to find something to eat, noticing he was hungry.

"Would you like some tea, Professor?" Harry asked the man who just walked into the kitchen. After the professor left the living room, Harry gave up trying to clean the chimney, deciding it would be smarter to try and persuade the wizard to leave without speaking to his aunt and uncle. He was afraid of his professor, but he was even more afraid of the belt.

After he cleaned up and changed his clothes, he realized that someone let Hedwig out of his cage. He was happy she was able to get exercise, but also afraid. _One more thing that I will get in trouble for_, Harry thought. He rushed down stairs and offered tea to Snape, remembering that was what his aunt usually did for company, both expected and unexpected. Since Harry was the one who usually made the tea, he knew where everything was. Snape looked surprised at the offer, though, and Harry had to suppress the urge to laugh.

"Yes, that would be agreeable," Snape replied, and Harry got the kettle out of the cabinet, filled it with water, added two tea bags, and set in on the stove top to boil. He did this slowly, trying to think of a way besides being polite to get Snape out. It felt weird being polite to Snape. Actually, it felt really weird with Snape in his house.

"Potter," Snape started when Harry finished the tea and brought it and a cup to the table. Harry turned to face him.

"Yes, sir?"

"Why was your owl locked in it's cage?" Harry looked at Snape, surprised at the question, then looked down, embarrassed.

"My uncle, sir." Severus sighed. The boy obviously wasn't going to volunteer information unless he was asked.

"Why?" The boy have a half-heartily shrug.

"He doesn't like her. He doesn't like anything that has to do with magic, actually."

"Well, that would explain a lot," Severus said under his breath, thinking about how he was treated at King's Cross and the fact that they seemed to be ignoring the boy. On a hunch, Severus stood up from his spot at the table and opened the refrigerator. Except for a few things on the top shelf, there was nothing in there. He turned on the boy, closing the door. "Do you know where they went or when they will be back?" he asked, just noticing how much thinner the boy was than he looked at the train station.

"No, sir. They didn't say."

"How long have they been gone?"

"Er. . . a week."

"Did they leave you money? A way to get into town? Someone to contact in case something happens?" The boy was silent. Severus assume it was a consent, but wanted to hear it come from the boy's mouth. "Well?" he asked, starting to get angry. He didn't like the boy, but it wasn't right to leave a 12 year old alone for any period of time to fend on his own.

"No," Potter answered quietly. Severus sighed.

"How much have you been eating? Answer truthfully," he added. He was used to speaking to his Slytherins, and they usually did not answer truthfully if it portrayed a weakness. The boy didn't answer at first, but then relented.

"Not enough," he whispered.

"Elaborate," Severus ordered.

"A few pieces of bacon and part of a fruit a day."

"Why so little?" the professor asked, a little more forcibly than required.

"They didn't leave me a lot of food and I didn't know when they would be back." Severus nodded. _At least the boy knows how to think ahead. I wouldn't normally think him capable of that_.

"Come with me," Snape ordered. Harry just stood there.

"I'm not allowed to leave, Professor," Harry argued.

"Do you want to eat, Potter?" spat his professor. Harry nodded. "Then come." Harry did follow, really wanting more than bacon to eat. Perhaps if he got more to eat, he would be able to get the cleaning done faster.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked, when they continued to walk down Privet Drive.

"Full of questions, aren't you, Potter? You will see." Harry shrugged and followed. He didn't want to get the man upset in case he decided he wasn't going to bring him to eat. He really wanted food.

He was taken by surprise when they stopped in front of Mrs. Figg's house. _How does Snape know Mrs. Figg_? he asked himself, thinking about it. _Maybe she's a witch! Then why did she never tell me? Maybe he knows her from somewhere else_. Snape knocked and the door opened immediately. Harry stayed behind Snape, embarrassed. Then it hit him that Snape might decide to use this against him! He really could see Snape bringing it up in class just to embarrass him.

"Severus! Back, I see. How is he?" This confused Harry. Mrs. Figg knew Snape was coming to check up him? _Snape said Dumbledore sent him . . ._ It was then that Snape stepped to the side, leaving Harry in clear view of the old lady. "Harry! Are you alright?"

"Yes, Mrs. Figg." Harry answered automatically.

"No, actually, he's not. The boy is starved. You were right," Snape sneered, although it was slightly. "The Dursleys have been gone for a week, and they left him _extremely_ little food. And they forbid him to leave, so he had no way to get any." Harry looked down, blushing.

"Come on, child, we need to get you food!" Mrs. Figg proclaimed, nearly dragging Harry to the living room. She left for the kitchen and Harry sat down automatically. Of course, the second he did, two cats were on top of him. He sighed. He got annoyed by the cats quite easily. There was so many of them!

"Hello, Kit and Marc," Harry greeted them, scratching both behind the ear. The immediately cuddled up on his lap, ensuring that he wasn't going to move any time soon. Harry sighed again, this time loudly. Snape raised an eyebrow at the Harry and cats, then sat down on the sofa across from them, slightly amused that he knew the cats by name and because they decided to use him as a chair.

"After we finish eating," Snape started, then waited for Harry to look up from the cats. "We will go back to your house and get your things."

"Where are we going?" Harry asked. "I'll get in trouble if they find out I've left. Uncle Vernon will be _very_ mad," he added, noticing afterward that he sounded scared. _Great, another thing for Snape to use against me_.

"Well, first, we will be going to Hogwarts, since the headmaster is still there finishing up things from last term. Then I don't know where _you_ will be going. And don't worry about your uncle being mad," he said, sounding almost nice if his voice weren't so flat. "But they shouldn't have left you alone. You might think you are capable of taking care of yourself, Potter," he hissed, "but you are only twelve. You need somewhere to stay until your relatives come back."

Severus watched the boy. He seemed scared of his uncle, which was generally unusual for Gryffindors.

"Potter, what did you uncle do to you? I wouldn't expect you to be afraid of a muggle."

"Er. . . what do you mean, sir? I'm not afraid of him. I just don't want to make him angry," Harry lied.

"Mmhmm." Severus realized he wasn't going to get anything from the boy.

"Okay, you two. Food's ready. Come to the kitchen." Severus got up, but Harry just stared pleadingly with Anabella.

"Harry, they aren't going to kill you if move them gently."

"Still," he answered, looking down at the pile of fur on his lap. He sighed, then picked one of them up and set him aside. He didn't get scratched, so he did the same thing with the girl. They both glared at him, irritated, but he was free. He smiled, got up, and headed toward the kitchen, following the smell of food.

At the table, Harry sat at his usual spot, the chair facing the door, and Snape and Mrs. Figg followed his lead. He waited until the others took food, then dug in. He was careful not to eat too much, though, because he knew from experience he'd get sick. He wasn't aware that both adults were watching him the entire time.

After Harry ate his full, he stared at his plate waiting for the other two to finish. He had so many questions, but he didn't want Snape to yell at him for asking too many. The git would. When Mrs. Figg got up and collected the plates, Snape also stood up.

"Thank you, Arabella." We really must be going before it gets dark. We will be taking a train from King's Cross tonight."

"Of course, Severus. You know you are always welcome here. Feeling better, Harry?"

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Figg."

"Good. Same goes for you. If they ever do anything like this again, don't hesitate to come here." Harry just smiled at that. He didn't want to go back to the Dursleys.

Back at the Dursley's house, Snape cleaned up the mess by the chimney magically, then turned to Harry.

"Where are your things?"

"I don't know," Harry said, thinking of where they could be. He cleaned the entire house, and he still couldn't find his trunk. Then he remembered that he couldn't get one of the doors open in the basement. "They took my trunk from me. I think it might be in the basement, though. There was a door I couldn't open when I was cleaning down there." Snape followed Harry as he led the way to the door in the basement. "This one," he said, trying once again to open it. Snape unlocked it easily with magic and found that Harry was right. His trunk was there.

"Go get your owl; I will take care of your trunk." Harry nodded and went upstairs to Dudley's second room where he found Hedwig sleeping on the bed post.

"Hey Hedwig. We are going to Hogwarts now. Do you want to fly there, or take the train?" he asked her. She fluttered over to the window, indicating that she rather fly. He opened the window for her, and she flew out right after she nipped her owner gratefully.

Harry got Hedwigs cage, cleaned it quickly, then brought it downstairs.

"And where it the owl?" Snape asked, annoyed.

"She wanted to fly there. She hasn't been out in a while." Snape studied Harry, then indicated for him to come closer.

"Keep hold of the cage and hold onto this. It is a port key. Have you ever traveled by port key?" Harry shook his head. "It will transport us to the place it is spelled to. This one will bring us to a place I own in London. Hold on." Harry obeyed. Snape said something, then Harry felt a tug behind his navel. Next thing he realized, he was on the floor.

"Ugh, I think I prefer the floo," Harry mentioned to himself, then got up and looked around where he was standing. Snape took the cage and shrunk both the cage and trunk, putting them in his pocket.

"Come on, Mr. Potter. We must make the train." Harry followed his professor out of the room, down the hall, and down several flights of stairs. _Snape owns a flat?_ Harry asked himself, surprised. He figured that Snape lived somewhere similar to the dungeons, not a flat in muggle London. Outside, it took about half an hour to walk to King's Cross. They both walked in silence. Harry tried several times to follow behind Snape, not wanting to walk with him, but Snape insisted on being able to see him.

By the time they reached the train station, it was almost dark. Harry automatically headed toward Platform 9 3/4, but Snape stopped him and they went the other way. They stopped between platform four and five. Harry looked at Snape, confused; he didn't know there were other magical platforms. Snape looked around, then indicated that Harry should go through. He did after checking around by habit.

"Platform 4 1/4" said the sign above harry's head. He sighed as a saw the train pull up to the platform, then Snape stepped up behind him.

"You really shouldn't stand in front of a magical entry, Potter," drawled Snape. "I could have very easily run into you." Harry didn't answer, but he followed Snape when the professor walked to the ticket booth and bought two tickets. The boarded, chose one of the many empty compartments, then sat in silence as they waited to reach Hogsmede.

By the time Harry and Snape reached the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office, Harry was about to fall asleep.

"Stay here. I must speak with the headmaster about some things first," Snape said when they reached the main waiting room. Harry sat down on one of the couches and fell asleep immediately.

"Severus. How did your errand go?" Dumbledore asked when he entered.

"Very well. I was able to get everything I needed, and a few extra ingredients. Some of them were quite hard to find, but I did find enough.

"Good, good. You checked up on Mr. Potter, I presume?"

"Yes, Albus, I did. I saw the situation he was living in, and I did not find it suitable." The headmaster's eyes twinkled much less at this.

"What happened?" he asked, worried.

"They seemed to have taken a trip and left Mr. Potter behind. They left him nothing but perhaps a few days food. Potter was smart enough to conserve it, but it wasn't enough. They also did not leave him any money, and they forbid him to leave, and oddly the boy obeyed. The boy seems used to being neglected," Severus reported.

"Neglected? I know they didn't treat him like their own son, but neglected?"

"Yes. Although Potter seems very embarrassed about it, but he also doesn't seem to think it is wrong for him to be treated like this. I fear it has been going on for quite awhile." Albus sighed. "I have judged the boy wrong. He has made me believe for the past two years that he is a spoiled brat. He sure acts like it." The headmaster smiled at Severus.

"Perhaps there is a reason the Sorting Hat wanted him in Slytherin." Severus raised an eyebrow. "Harry didn't want to be in Slytherin. He did not tell me why, but I have a feeling it had something to do with Voldemort." The younger wizard tensed at the use to the name. "This would explain his past actions, though, of not coming to me or another professor for help. If he truly was neglected his whole life, he probably doesn't know _how_ go ask an adult for help." Severus shook his head.

"It would make sense. Would you like to speak to him?"

"Yes, of course. But first I would like to find a place for him to stay. The Weasley's would love to take him if they were home, but they are currently not. The Granger's are also not home, and I am afraid that the rest of the staff is away for the summer. Arabella would be a good choice, but we don't want the Dursleys to know she knows how they have been treating him," Albus sighed, then looked at Severus. "How about you? You will be going to the Prince Estate this summer, will you not?"

"I will _not_ have a Potter in my home. He might have been obedient before, but now that he is back in the wizarding world, he will probably go back to his usual Potter ways!" Albus got up and opened the door, glancing out.

"He is sleeping," he said, shaking his head and closing the door. "Severus. I can't think of any other place for him to go. And no, I don't believe he will start to disobey you if you are giving him residence. I have met many children who misbehave in the school environment, but very well behaved at a home in which they are staying. I believe that Harry will be the same way, from what you have told me. And there are children in nearby estates, are there not? I'm sure Harry would love to make some new friends. He would not be in your way the entire time." Severus sighed.

"You know I don't like the boy," he argued weakly, knowing that Albus had his mind made up. "So you agree that Potter is disobedient . . ."

"I said nothing of the sort," the headmaster answered, then turned serious again. "Perhaps, when you begin to realize that he is very different from his father, you will begin to like him." He glared at the headmaster.

"I doubt that will ever happen," he sighed once again. "Fine. He may come to the Prince Estate. But it _will_ be made very clear to him that he is not to break the rules I set down."

"Of course, Severus." The headmaster looked out the door once more, then smiled. "I think we can leave him there until morning. He seems quite comfortable. We shall tell him in the morning. Good night, my boy."

"Good night, Albus."


	2. Prince Manor

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: Finally! Chapter 2 is up! Pats self on back. Whew! Well, it is shorter than the first chapter, so you'll have to forgive me for that, but I hope you like it. I don't know when I'll have the next chapter up. Hopefully within a week, but my classes are taking up a lot of my time.**

**I'm currently working on a layout for Prince Manor, so you'll be able to follow along in the house, but I don't know when I'll be able to get it up. I'll let you know!**

**Anyway, if you like this, go check out my other stories: It's Mutual, United, and Where did he go?. The last two are oneshots. **

**Thanks to: ****hermione1208****, sweets2, ****animewolfgurl****, Moony, ****angel74****Weirkat****, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, ****Mirriam Q Webster****Bluebear13****, dubdigit, greeneyes, ****Spiorad****HecateDeMort****Phantomsgirl04****, s****evschoosen1, ****nessime-lisen****Lady Lily3****Kimi kimz****starangel2106****gizmama****momocolady****, eyeinthesky, ****Cedric55d****, and ****Jenkid11**** for the reviews!**

**Chapter 2 - Prince Manor**

Harry woke slowly to the sound of voices talking. This confused him at first because the Dursleys were gone. This woke him up immediately, mostly because he wasn't able to finish his chores yet. He didn't want to be caught sleeping when the chores weren't done. On his feet, Harry looked around, blinking, confused. This wasn't the Dursleys. This was Dumbledore's office. Slowly, reality came back to him and Dumbledore and Snape entered.

"Ah, you are up, my boy. Hungry, I presume?" Harry nodded. Dumbledore snapped his fingers and a house elf appeared with a try of food. He (or she) set down the tray on the short table in front of Harry and disappeared again before Harry could say thank you. Hungry, Harry dug in and ate until he was full, unaware that both Snape and Dumbledore was watching him once again. When he was done, half the tray was still full of food. He looked up and saw the two wizards were looking at him.

"Can you not eat any more?" Snape asked him. Harry shook his head. Snape just nodded.

"Harry, since you cannot go back to your relative's at the moment, you will be staying at Professor Snape's manor. We both expect you to behave, so try not to get into trouble, all right, my boy?" Harry nodded, eyes wide. _Snape? Why _Snape "Harry?" Dumbledore asked when he noticed he wasn't going to get anything more than a nod. This worried him slightly. He was expecting Harry to be angry.

"He does seem nicer then Uncle Vernon, now," Harry said under his breathe, answering his own unasked question, but both professors heard him. They shared a glance, then looked back at Harry. It explained why he wasn't complaining. "Okay," Harry said, louder, but not a whole much more. Snape nodded.

"We will be leaving after lunch. Your things are over there," Snape pointed to a trunk and cage near the wall. "You also might want to find your owl," he added, then left. After he was gone, Harry turned to Dumbledore.

"Why _him_? He _hates_ me!" Harry nearly yelled.

"Harry," Dumbledore sighed, "Professor Snape does not hate you."

"Yes he does! How do you know he won't treat me exactly like the Dursleys did?"

"He won't, Harry. He took you from there, remember? He will supply you with as much food and shelter as you require. And I do know there is a few kids around your age who live nearby. Professor Snape has already agreed to talk to the parents."

"My age? Do they go to Hogwarts? Would I know them?"

"No, I believe you wouldn't know them. I am not sure what school the students around there go to. Perhaps some do, but I am not sure. The village that Prince Manor is in is a half-wizarding village, and I believe most of the children go to, or will go to, some sort of magic school."

"Prince Manor? I thought . . ."

"The manor belongs on Professor Snape's mother's side."

"Oh."

"You seemed to have calmed down."

"I don't really want to spend the summer with Snape."

"Professor Snape, Harry. I believe if you two try, you could get alone quite well. Give him a chance." Harry snorted.

"Yeah, right."

"Yes," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "Now, I believe you might want to find Hedwig and tell her what is going on."

"Yes, sir," Harry relented, still not happy. _Hey, at least I won't have to see the Dursleys for the rest of the summer. I hope_. Actually, Harry was hoping he would never have to see the Dursleys again.

But _Snape_?

"Ready?" Harry looked up from the transfiguration book that Dumbledore gave him to read while he waited. It was interesting, but he didn't really want to be reading.

"Yeah," he answered Snape.

"Yes, sir," the professor corrected. Harry looked back down at the book to avoid the glare he would have otherwise given Snape. Since he was going to be living with him for awhile, he didn't want to get on his bad side.

"Yes, sir. Um, where are my things?" Snape rose an eyebrow at the boy.

"They are already at my manor," Snape replied simply.

"Oh." Harry closed the book and put it on the small table in front of him, not knowing where Dumbledore wanted it.

"Ah, leaving already? Are you sure you don't want lunch before you leave?" Harry looked at Snape. He was hungry, but he didn't want to say anything in case Snape got mad.

"No. Lunch is waiting at the manor."

"Of course," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Good day, Harry. I will be seeing you soon, I believe. Good bye, Severus."

"Bye," Harry replied. Snape nodded, and Harry followed Snape to the hearth in Dumbledore's office.

"Have you travel by floo before?" Snape asked Harry, sounding impatient.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Destination is Prince Manor. You will go first." Harry nodded, taking a handful of the floo and threw it in.

"Prince Manor," he said, then stepped into the fire when the fire flared green.

Harry fell forward from the fire place once he arrived. He got up immediately, not wanting to look stupid when Snape came, and brushed himself off. A few seconds, Snape came through. Harry looked around the room. It appeared to be a sitting room, dressed in grays and blues. There was a small wooden table in front of him with a sofa behind it and a chair on each side, all a deep charcoal gray. _It figures his house would be decorated in dark colors_, Harry thought grimly, but he had to admit it did look oddly comforting.

"Come," Snape ordered from behind Harry, startling him out of his examination of the room. He followed reluctantly, just wanting to back to Hogwarts. Snape led him out of the parlor through two sliding doors, which led to an open area that branched off into five additional dark corridors. The staircase, which was standing in front of the two wizards, was of polished, dark brown wood, and a dark blue rug ran down the center.

They followed the runner up the stairs. At the top, Harry noticed that a balcony encircled the entire upper part of the room. Snape turned around and pointed at an opening on the other side of the balcony.

"You will not go there." Harry nodded, and followed Snape through the opposite hallway to the one that was off limits. They stopped at the first door.

"This will be your room," Snape said, opening the door. Harry looked in. This room was also done in a blue, but it was a lighter shade than the dark blue he had seen so far in the manor. It was plainly furnished with a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, a night table, and a bookshelf. In trunk was at the base of the bed. It was _his_ for the summer.

"Thank you, sir," Harry whispered. Snape didn't answer, but just closed the door then turned to Harry.

"It is time for lunch. Come." Harry followed without question. He _was_ rather hungry, and he didn't want to get Snape angry. At the bottom of the stairs, they went through a doorway on the left, which required them to take the two steps down. The small corridor opened up into a dinning room, and there was food on the table already.

Not wanting to get in trouble, Harry waited for Snape to sit, then Harry sat across from him. On the table in front of him was chicken, soup, apples, peas and carrots and bread. Harry took a little of everything and started eating.

As good as the food was, Harry wasn't able to finish what was on his plate; he just wasn't used to eating. He looked at the Snape's plate and saw the man was still eating, so he played with his food for a little bit more, glaring at it.

"Not hungry?" Snape asked dryly. Harry shook his head. "Try eating a few more bits. A bit of apple or some vegetables if you don't think you can handle the chicken. You are too under nourished." Harry gave Snape a weird look. This was his greasy potions professor? He wasn't acting like a git at all! Well, maybe a little, but he was being . . . nice! Well, for Snape.

With that thought in his head, Harry took a few sliced pieces of apple from the center of the table and munched on them absent mindedly, waiting for Snape to finish.

"I must work on something. Please, do not destroy anything, and do not go into any of the rooms that are locked, magically or not."

"Yes, sir," Harry answered, getting up as the potions master left the room. Although it seemed as if Snape gave Harry the right to explore the house, Harry didn't want to take the chance to prove it wrong, and went to his room to unpack.

It was almost midnight and Severus was finally walking up the stairs to his rooms when he heard a cry from Potter's room. Shaking his head, he went to make sure the boy wasn't dying. When he opened the door, he saw that the boy was tossing in his sleep. Severus was about to turn around to get a calming potion for Potter when the boy started talking.

"No, Uncle, please, not again. I'll be good, I promise. Please, no. No, no. . ." Snape just stared at the moving form in the bed. What was he suppose to do? "Not the belt, uncle, please . . ." Belt! This stunned Severus. Why would . . .?

He walked closer to the bed and let the lights glow softly. Potter was tossing, and looked to be in a sweat. Severus was at a loss for what to do. He never had to take care of a child before, and his own parents weren't much of an example to go by. The boy, probably whipped before (taking into consideration the comment on the belt), was having a nightmare. _What _does_ someone do in this situation?_

"Sh, wake up, Potter," he tried, no to prevail. He didn't want to shake the boy awake in case it scared him. Not able to think of anything else, he moved the covers aside and sat on the bed, sitting the child up. Still not knowing what to do, he leaned the boy against him, and started rubbing his back. At first, Potter was tense, but then he started to calm down. After about ten minutes, he was sleeping calmly, and Severus was about to lay the boy back down, when he realized that Potter had attached himself to him; his hands were tightly gripped Severus' robes.

After trying for five minutes to detach Potter without waking him, he found it was no use, and decided just to lay down with him. It disturbed him greatly that a twelve year old boy was acting as if he had never been comforted after a nightmare before, and from what the boy's relatives did to him earlier, he didn't doubt that they would deny a child a thing as simple as safety. It made him very mad.

Harry slowly woke, feeling really weird. After awhile, he realized someone was near him. Who could that be? He tried to remember if anything happened during the night. Nothing but a nightmare came to him, and Harry pushed that out of his mind as soon as he could. He didn't want to think about his uncle.

_But who could be with me?_ he asked himself. The only other person in the house, as far as he knew, was Snape, but he wouldn't . . .

Harry's eyes snapped open and he found himself staring at a black wall. Realizing his hands were clamped tightly to the robes in front of him, he quickly let go and sat up. With a start, he realized it_ was_ Snape. _What happened?_ he asked silently. Nothing quite added up.

Harry's sudden movements seem to awaken Snape, because he sat up while Harry was thinking to himself. Harry looked at the man.

"What happened?" he asked again, whispering.

"I'm assuming you had a nightmare," Snape said flatly. "I came in here to find you tossing and crying in your sleep. Somehow, you managed to attach yourself to me in your sleep," Snape said sarcastically, but there was an absence of venom in his voice.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, figuring the man wanted an apology.

"There is nothing to be sorry for, Potter, but I would like to talk to you about a few things. I do believe they can wait until after breakfast. Clean up and get dressed. I expect you in the dinning room soon."

"Yes, sir," Harry answered, confused. Why was Snape being so _nice_? He had always been a git to Harry, and now he was checking up on him during the night? _Is _that_ what adults are suppose to do?_ Harry thought, angry. He didn't understand, though, why Snape was being nice. Snape didn't like him, he made that clear over the past two years, right? The Dursley's didn't like him either, but they were mean to him. Snape wasn't being extremely nice, like Mrs. Weasley, but he was feeding Harry, and giving him a place to sleep. And he helped Harry during a _nightmare_.

One time, when Harry was about five, he had a nightmare about the green light, and left his cupboard to find his Aunt and Uncle. He told them he had a nightmare and was scared, but they just told him to go back to his cupboard and that he wasn't to come to them with his "stupid problems" again. He never did after that.

But Snape seemed fine about helping. He spent the _night_ with Harry, for Merlin's sake. No one had done something like that for him before, and Harry didn't know what to think about it.

What didn't Snape want to talk to him about, though? Was he in trouble for something? Harry didn't think he did anything wrong, but Uncle Vernon often punished Harry for things he didn't do; usually for things Dudley did that he blamed on Harry. He didn't want to get in trouble for being late for breakfast, though, so he reluctantly got out of bed and went to take a bath. _My own bathroom!_ Harry thought, excited. He was Surprised to find that there was a bathroom connected to his room. So, even if Snape decided to lock Harry in, he wouldn't have to worry about that, at least.

After breakfast, Harry followed Snape back to the "stairs room", as Harry started calling it, and into the parlor. Snape motioned for Harry to sit down and Snape followed suit.

"Mr. Potter, while you were having your nightmare, you were talking in your sleep." Snape paused, and Harry took this as a cue to apologize.

"I'm sorry, sir," Harry said, and Snape sighed.

"I told you, Potter, you have nothing to be sorry for. What I want to talk to you about is _what_ you were talking about. You were telling your uncle not to do something. And something about a belt." Harry stared, dumbfounded, at his professor. Snape _heard_ him? Harry groaned. "Did your uncle beat you, Potter?" Snape asked. Harry looked down.

"No, sir," Harry replied.

"No? So he never hit you? Never whipped you?"

"Once," Harry whispered.

"When?"

"At the beginning of the summer, before he left."

"What did he do?"

"He hit me with his belt. And kicked me once."

"And you say he did beat you," Snape said sarcastically. Harry kept his head down.

"He only did it once. They never touched me, well, expect for my cousin. They were afraid of my "freakiness" rubbing off on them," Harry said, also sarcastic, but then clamped his mouth shut when he realize who he was talking to.

"What did you cousin do?" Harry looked up. Snape sounded . . . concerned? _No, that couldn't be right_, Harry thought.

"He usually got a bunch of the neighborhood kids to help beat me up," Harry said, embarrassed. He really didn't want to be telling Snape this. _He'll probably use it later to tease me in front of the class!_

"What did your Aunt and Uncle do about this?"

"Nothing. I used to tell them, but they kept accusing me of lying, and I got in trouble, so I stopped telling them." Snape sighed.

"Potter, look at me." Harry looked up. "How long have they neglected you? Since you started Hogwarts?"

"No, sir. They've always treated me like that."

"Have they ever left you alone before this summer?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said, and Snape seemed to get mad, even though his face stayed calm. "The most it was ever for was three days. I was usually locked in my cupboard while they were gone."

"Usually?" Snape sneered, but Harry had a feeling it wasn't toward him.

"One time they forgot me outside. . ."

"What! How old were you? For how long?" Snape seemed to have snapped, but Harry wasn't sure why.

"I was nine. It was for three days."

"Where did you stay?"

"In the tool shed." Snape seemed to have cooled down a little bit, but Harry wasn't trusting that. He kept his eyes on the table in front of him.

"What about this cupboard." Harry looked up quickly. Did he want Snape to know about that? He figured he didn't have much of a choice. He _was_ the one who first mentioned it.

"The cupboard under the stairs was my bedroom until I got my Hogwarts' letter."

"Potter, I can assure you, you will _never_ go back there again," Snape said, then got up and left, leaving a very confused Harry Potter behind.


	3. Stories

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: Wow, I'm getting it up within a week. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep it up. I'll probably update this one every Sunday, but I'm not promising anything!**

**Anyway, if you like this, go check out my other stories: It's Mutual, United, Snow Wars and Where did he go?. The last three are oneshots. **

**Thanks to: dubdigit, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, ****Lady-Serena-Snape****Bluebear13****, greeneyes, ****animealam****, momocolady, ****Oni queen****Aine Indil Potter****Lady Lily3****hermione1208****, lorelei, ****HecateDeMort****, sweets2, Nekisama, ****Sevschoosen1****, and ****ILoveFlitwick**** for the reviews. Sorry if I miss anyone.**

**Chapter 3 - Stories**

"Albus!" Severus yelled as he exited the floo into the Albus' office.

"Yes, my boy?" he asked calmly. _Sometimes that man acts too calm for his own good!_ Severus complained to himself.

"I just found out some more information about Mr. _Potter_ and his relatives."

"And what would that be?"

"They have done more than just leaving him home with no food for over a week! He has been neglected for so long he doesn't bother to mention it unless he is asked specifically about it!"

"Are you sure?" Albus asked, solemn.

"Yes," replied Severus, finally in control of his own self. "I want to know when the Dursleys come back from their _vacation_," he continued after some thought. "I wish to have a little _talk_ with them."

"Only if you promise not to harm them, Severus, my boy. We can't have you in Azkaban for torturing muggles." Severus smirked.

"Of course."

"This is certainly an attitude change from yesterday, child. What happened?"

"I don't believe that is any of your business. But no child should be treated as he has been."

"Or you have been," Dumbledore added, which earned him a glare from the younger wizard. "I agree. He will not go back there. Am I wrong in assuming it is all right for him to stay at your manor for the rest of the summer?" Snape sighed.

"Yes. He is already there, and there is no point in moving him. I must be going back, now. I left Potter in quite a rush."

"Of course, Severus. Until then."

"Until then." Severus, now calm from his outburst, threw in the floo power and said "Prince Manor", then stepped through.

He was surprised to find that Potter hadn't moved from his spot on the chair. He was about to go tell the boy to find something to do, when he thought better of it. He looked over the boy, and realized how small he really was. Potter did not look the size of an average 12 year old; he looked closer to ten. If Severus didn't know that this was Harry Potter, he would assume that he hadn't even started at Hogwarts yet.

"Potter, come here," he ordered the boy. He looked as if he wanted to protest, but he did consent. "I wish to see your back," he started, and got a nervous look, "to see if you have any scars. If you do, I might be able to heal them." Potter seemed to think about this, then slowly took off his shirt. When he obviously had trouble with the task, Severus helped him, pulling the ratty shirt over the boy's head. "Do you hurt?" Potter nodded. "Speak when you answer."

"Yes, sir. I'm a little sore." Snape nodded.

"I will get you something for that." He then turned Potter around, got to his knees, and examined the boy's small back. There were a few scars, but nothing a little Scar Diminishing Ointment couldn't fix. "I will be right back. Stay here," he said, standing up. He went to his lab, got a mild pain reliever and the ointment.

"Take this," he said, handing Potter the potions vile. "It will help with the soreness." Potter drank it after glaring at it cautiously, and his distaste for the potion was evident on his face. After that, he had Potter lay on his stomach so he could apply the ointment. Afterwards, the boy put his shirt back on, and Severus looked over the boy once again.

"Do you not have any decent clothes?" he asked.

"No, sir. This is all the Dursleys gave me." Severus thought about this, then came to a conclusion.

"We will be going to Hogsmede, then, to get you some clothes that fit. Be ready in an hour," he said, waving the boy off.

Harry walked down the stairs and met Snape at the bottom. He really didn't know what to think of Snape anymore, so he kept his eyes down, not looking at the man.

"We will be traveling by floo," he said, leading Harry into the parlor. Five minutes later, they were leaving the Three Broomsticks, Harry following Snape at a distance. They turned out outside of what appeared to be a wizarding clothing store called "Five and a Quarter". _Weird name_, Harry thought. They entered, but Harry realized he didn't have any money.

"Um, sir? I don't have any money with me. And isn't . . ."

"Potter, a child should not have to buy clothing with his or her own money. I will be paying for the clothes myself, since you will be staying the summer with me." Harry stopped walking, stunned. _Snape_ was going to buy him clothes? Snape stopped when he realized that Harry wasn't following and glared at him. "Are you coming?" he asked flatly. Harry didn't answer, just started walking again.

They walked to the back of the store. Harry was amazed at how muggle it looked. He had never been in a muggle department store, but he assumed that it would look like this. Racks and racks of clothes!

"Where is the children's section?" Snape asked a lady behind a desk.

"Second floor," she answered, writing something down. She looked up then, glancing at Snape and looking over Harry. She smiled. "Hi, there. What's your name?" she asked him like he was a little kid.

"Harry," he answered, not bothering to give his last name. He didn't want to hear anything about his fame; it was quite annoying.

"First time in Hogsmede? I haven't seen you around here before."

"No," he answered simply. He just wanted to get away from her.

"Oh, well, have fun shopping with your dad, Harry." This earned a glare, unnoticed, from both Harry and Snape, but neither bothered to correct her. Both just wanted to get away from the prying girl as soon as possible.

Harry followed Snape up the stairs to the next floor. This floor was definitely brighter than the floor below; the walls were a light purple color and brightly lit candles hovered near the ceiling and along the walls. There was a definite part between the girls and boys clothing. He heard Snape sigh.

"This would be a lot easier if we knew what size you were," he heard the man mumble. "Come," Snape ordered, and Harry followed him to a rack of black pants. Not knowing what to do, what with never having been clothes shopping before, he watched Snape flip through the rack and pull out a pair. He held it up to the boy, and Harry blushed. Snape took two more pants off the rack, then motioned for Harry to follow him to the dressing room.

"Try these on. Show me after you have it on; I want to make sure it actually fits before I buy it," Snape said flatly. Harry nodded, took the pants and went into one of the stall, embarrassed. He was trying on clothes for _Snape_. Trying on the first pair, Harry understood why Snape wanted to make sure they fit. Harry had no idea whether they did or not. They weren't tight, but Harry had no idea if they were the right size. So, grudgingly, Harry opened the stall door and stepped out. To even more embarrassment, Snape lifted Harry shirt and tested how tight the waistband was, then checked the length of the pant leg. Seemingly satisfied, Snape took up.

"Is it comfortable?" he asked. Startled by being asked such a question, Harry looked at Snape.

"Yes," he answered. Snape nodded.

"Okay. Change into your own pants, and bring the other two pairs out." Harry obliged. When he came out again, Snape took the three pairs of pants, held onto the one that fit, then threw the other two in a bin, which immediately disappeared.

"What happened to them?" Harry asked without thinking.

"They are now back on the rack," Snape answered, sounding bored, then walked over to the same rack as before.

An hour later, Snape and Harry left Five and a Quarter with four pairs of pants, two pairs of jeans, six shirts, three everyday robes, new shoes, and a bunch of other necessities. Harry, although not as much as before, was still embarrassed that his professor had brought him clothes shopping. It seemed . . . wrong. The Dursley's never bought him any clothes, but his professor would? _It doesn't make sense!_

After a trip to the bookstore and the apothecary, Harry was following Snape back to the Three Broomsticks. It was quite an uneventful day, but Harry did enjoy seeing more of Hogsmede than the train station.

They arrived back at Prince Manor just in time for a late lunch, so Snape ordered Harry to put his clothes in him room and change into something decent before heading to the kitchen. Harry, extremely hungry, did so and rushed to the dinning room, where food was waiting on the table.

"Do you have a house elf, sir?" Harry asked as he sat down.

"Why do you ask?" _Can't answer a simple yes or no question, can he?_ Harry thought.

"Well, I haven't seen you cooking or anything, so I assumed you have someone helping."

"Yes, I have two house elves; Miiki and Corda."

"Why haven't I seen them?"

"Potter, have you ever seen a house elf before?"

"Um, yeah. One. Dobby."

"Dobby? Isn't that one of the Malfoy's?"

"Er, he was."

"Was?" Harry didn't answer right away.

"It's a long story, sir." Snape shook his head.

"It is not a smart idea to get on the bad side of a Malfoy. You would do best to remember that."

"Yeah, well, it was _his_ fault that Ginny almost died!" Harry burst out, then clamped his hand over his mouth. He always got in trouble when he talked back like that at the Dursley's, and he didn't know how Snape was going to react. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to yell," he said in a quiet voice.

"Malfoy senior? How was it _his_ fault that the Weasley girl almost died?"

"He snuck Riddle's journal into her cauldron at the book store during the summer."

"The Chamber of Secrets."

"Yes."

"So it does exist."

"The Headmaster didn't say anything?" Snape gave Harry a glare.

"Not much."

"Yes, it does exist."

"And you can open it." Harry paused.

"Yes."

"How?"

"What?"

"_How_ can you open it?" Harry narrowed his eyes at Snape.

"Why?" he asked, suspicious. Snape smirked.

"It is rumored only the Heir of Slytherin can open the Chamber of Secrets. _You_ are definitely _not_ the Heir of Slytherin."

"Tell that to everyone who thought I was," Harry mumbled under his breath, but Snape heard him. "Anyone who is a Parselmouth can open it," he said louder. Snape shook his head.

"So, a place in the castle only you can get to. Why do I sense trouble?" Snape asked, voice full of sarcasm.

"I'm not going down there again! Besides, part of it is partially caved in now, and the Basilisk is probably rotting. Gross!"

"Are you telling me the Headmaster _wasn't_ joking when he said you battled a Basilisk?"

"Why would he joke about that?"

"It seemed unlikely. He does have a habit of bringing small jokes into a serious conversation."

"Well, he wasn't joking. If it wasn't for Fawkes coming, I would have died!"

"You shouldn't have gone."

"Well, Lockhart wasn't going to! He was about to run!"

"Then you brought him down with you." Harry paused. He knew what Snape was getting at.

"Well, he _was_ an adult, and there wasn't a lot of time. And besides, I was the only one who could get it open. Ginny almost died!"

"It was dangerous."

"Yeah, well . . ." Harry had no response to that. "Ginny almost died," he replied weakly.

"The Sorcerer's Stone your first year, Chamber of Secrets your second year. Have anything planned next year?" Snape snarled.

"No! I don't _want_ anything to happen next year!" Snape sighed, and seemed to be thinking. "Why _would_ I want something to happen?"

"You have a hero complex, Potter."

"No I don't! I just want people to get hurt or killed! I can't just sit by and watch if something bad happens and no one else can take care of it."

"What about your first year? I am sure there is someone else who could have done something."

"No one would listen," Harry complained.

"You weren't even suppose to know about the stone." Harry shrugged. "How were _you_ able to find the Chamber of Secrets, of all people, when adults haven't been?"

"We just added all the clues together, sir," Harry said plainly. He didn't really want to go through the entire story. "The Basilisk, the pipes, Riddle's memory, Moaning Myrtle. It just added up."

"What about Riddle's memory?" Harry didn't speak right away; he just clenched his fists tightly. "Potter?" Snape warned.

"He _framed_ Hagrid. I can't believe I believed him! And in the Chamber of Secrets, I thought he was going to help! I should have figured right from the start he couldn't have been there for any good reason. Of course, I should have known something was wrong when someone already dead was alive and Ginny was dying," Harry murmured on, mostly talking to himself. "He told me a lot, though," he said, looking up at his professor. "He told me _how_ he did it. It doesn't matter much, now. The diary is destroyed. The memories are destroyed. He thought too much of himself." Snape rose an eyebrow at the boy. He wasn't exactly sure what Potter was going on about, but it _did_ have something to do with Riddle.

"Potter, do you know who this Riddle is?"

"Of _course_," Harry spat. "It's _him_. I didn't have to figure that out. Riddle told me. He bragged too much. Of course, I guess I was lucky that he wanted to talk. It gave me time to think."

"The more I hear, the less I believe," Snape said shaking his head. "What _exactly _happened?"

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious, Potter. And I am trying to learn more about you."

"Why?"

"Is that all you can ask?"

"I want to know _why_ you want to know. How do I know you aren't going to use it against me or anything?" Snape looked surprised for a moment, but masked his face immediately.

"You'll have to take my word on it, Potter. Since you _are_ my charge for the summer, I would like to know how you get yourself out of trouble. You have the uncanny ability to find trouble."

"I don't go looking for trouble. It finds me," Harry argued.

"Will you tell me?" Harry sighed, and looked over his professor. Snape _was_ being nice, but so was Riddle. Riddle used Ginny by being nice. "Why don't you trust me?" Harry was surprised at the question.

"Some people are nice only to get what they want. Riddle did that to Ginny."

"Mr. Potter, I promise you I will not hurt you. The headmaster put you in my care, did he not?"

"Yes."

"You don't have to tell me, but I want to know."

"You just want to know," Harry repeated.

"Correct." Harry sighed. Should he tell? Harry shrugged. He didn't see why not.

"Well, Ron and I went to go tell Lockhart we knew where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was, and we found him packing. That's when we found out that he was a fake. Should have realized it before, though. He never taught us anything," Harry said, angry. "He was going to put a memory charm on us, but I used Expelliarmus on him. We forced him to Myrtle's bathroom, then asked her how she died, just to make sure.

"Well, we figured that the faucet that didn't work had to be the entrance. I told it to open in Parseltongue. We slid down. Then Lockhart stole Ron's wand, but it was broken, so the Obliviate backfired. The tunnel collapsed, and I was separated from Ron and Lockhart. I decided to go farther into the Chamber because Ginny was already there for hours. I was careful to listen for the basilisk, and I came across Ginny, looking dead. When I tried to wake her, I was stupid and dropped my wand. That was when Riddle came.

"At first, I thought I could trust him. After all, he showed me his memory, right? But after trying to convince him that we had to go, that the basilisk could arrive any moment, I became suspicious. I should have been suspicious in the first place, but . . ." Harry paused. "He took my wand. He answered my questions on what he did to Ginny, and why," Harry shuttered. "He also told me how he made his name." Another pause. "It was so hard to not start yelling at him," he whispered.

"He asked me how I defeated him the first time. I explained to him that it was mother, my _muggleborn_ mother who saved me." Harry paused. "Did you know he was a half blood? He hates muggles so much because his father abandoned him and his mother before he was born." Snape stared at the boy.

"No," he said quietly. "I didn't."

"Anyway, he kept going on about how great a wizard he was," Harry continued. "Well, I wasn't going to listen him go on forever, Ginny was dying. I contradicted it by saying he wasn't, Professor Dumbledore is. I kept contradicting him, hoping for him to make a mistake. That was when Fawkes came with the Sorting Hat." Snape continued to stare at Harry. "I was able to pull the sword out of it later. Riddle called the basilisk, Fawkes blinded it after awhile, and I was able to stab it," Harry said, rubbing his arm at the memory of the bite. He refused to tell anymore.

"I see," Snape said slowly, recognizing that Harry didn't want to talk about it anymore. Harry looked down at his plate and realized he barely ate any of it. He started eating again. They sat in silence for the next five minutes.

"Thank you, sir," Harry said quietly.

"For what?"

"The clothes." Snape nodded. Harry just couldn't believe he had a civil conversation with Snape. _I hope he doesn't go back to being a major git_, Harry thought.

"Sir?" Harry ventured to ask, pulling Snape out of his own musings.

"Yes?"

"If you have time, could," Harry paused, "could you show me around your house?" Snape studied the boy.

"I don't see why not. I wasn't planning on doing much today." Harry sighed, glad that he wasn't going to get yelled at for asking.

"Thank you, sir."


	4. Birthday

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: Another chapter! I have chapters 5, 6, and 7 planned out, so hopefully I'll be able to put them up soon, especially chapter 5. I have a feeling you guys will want that chapter! (You'll see why).**

**Anyway, if you like this, go check out my other stories: It's Mutual, The Merge of Wars, United, Snow Wars, Where did he go? and Have You, Will You?. The last four are oneshots. **

**Thanks to: dubdigit, ****gizmama****, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, ****RidDles girl****Proops****spinnerofdark****Lady Lily3****, Andi, ****momocolady****HRInuyashaFan16****hermione1208****, hecatedemort, ****Bluebear13****, and ****Sevschoosen1**** for the reviews. Sorry if I miss anyone.**

**Chapter 4 - Birthday**

Severus Snape stood outside the animal shop, debating whether he should change his mind. He already discussed it with Albus, and he thought it to be a great idea. Harry's birthday was tomorrow, and he wanted something the boy would like.

Over the past two weeks, Severus had become attached to Harry somehow. He was beginning to wonder how he ever thought the boy was selfish. Although he was starting to open up more, Harry was very quiet, and seemed constantly afraid of doing something wrong. Like any neglected child would.

Severus found the feeling of overprotectiveness toward the boy odd. Even more odd was that he enjoyed watching the boy fly on his broom daily, despite the fact that he almost constantly did dangerous stunts that Severus detested almost daily. The child immensely enjoyed flying, and that just made Severus . . . _happy_. One thing for sure, Severus was _not_ used to the feeling.

So, here he was, outside the animals shop, planning on buying the young parselmouth a _snake_ for his birthday. He shook his head and entered the shop.

"Hello. . . Professor Snape!" a young woman, who, Severus recognized, finished Hogwarts a few years ago.

"Miss Inima."

"May I help you?"

"I am looking for a snake." Inima nodded.

"They are near the back of the shop. I'll show you." Severus followed his ex-student to several glass tanks of snakes, ranging from small to medium in size. "Let me know when you have chosen." Severus nodded and looked over the snakes. One caught his eye, a black snake with red in between the scales on it's underside. He guessed it was about two feet long.

"Tell me about that one," Severus said, pointing to the black snake.

"Ah. That is a Black Rat Snake. They aren't native around here, but they are very good as pets. No venom, and he has an easy temper. Won't attack unless attacked himself. He's young yet. He will probably get to be about five feet or so. Possibly larger."

"That long . . .?" Severus mumbled.

"Oh, no need to worry. He's harmless, really. They are very good at pest control." Severus nodded and thought it over. He – Inima said it was a he – would probably be best _because_ he was young and easy tempered. The only thing that worried him was his future size. Severus ignored that fact, figuring that Harry would like him. After the snake and the snake supplies, along with instructions on how to take care of the snake, were paid for, Severus flooed back to his manor, making sure no soot got near the snake.

Not knowing whether or not the snake could understand him, Severus decided to tell it what was going on, figuring if the black snake did, it would make things easier in the long run. He stored the snake in his rooms, then walked out casually to go to dinner, meeting Harry at the top of the stairs.

"Hi, Professor," greeted the boy.

"Harry."

Harry sat on his bed watching the clock. Two minutes and he'd be thirteen. He didn't really know why he stayed up until midnight every year. Nothing special ever happened on his birthday, and he doubted anything would this year. Yeah, Snape was treating him nice . . . but would he actually know that his birthday was in . . . one minute? Harry doubted it.

He figured that Ron and Hermione would send him something, but he didn't expect anything from anyone else. _At least I won't be working my butt off this year_, Harry thought. That, in itself, would make this his second best birthday. The first, of course, being when Hagrid came and told him about him being a wizard. Harry stared intently at the clock and smiled sadly when it chimed twelve.

"Happy birthday, Harry," he said grimly, put out the candle next to his bed, and covered himself with his blankets.

Little did he know that Snape was watching him silently from the doorway. Harry, probably because he was always locked in his room (or cupboard) in previous years, didn't like his door closed when he was in it, even when he slept. Once Snape made it clear that his door being open was perfectly fine, he rarely closed it. He just felt more comfortable when it was open.

Severus used that fact to his advantage, wanting to see _why_ the boy was staying up so late. Usually, Harry went to bed at a relatively early time, and was up at, what Severus thought to be, an ungodly hour of the morning. He had a feeling that tomorrow might be different, and decided that he was going to allow Harry to sleep in if he chose to do so.

The next morning, Harry woke to the clock chiming. He counted ten. Harry sat up in a hurry. _Why didn't Snape wake me_? he wondered. During the times in which Harry wasn't up early, which was rarely, Snape would come and wake him up in time for breakfast. What was different about today?

_It's your birthday, stupid_, a voice that sounded strangely like Ron countered in his head. Harry briefly wondered if that was the reason, but quickly push the though aside, threw on a clean pair of jeans and a shirt from the wardrobe and rushed downstairs.

As expected for this time of the morning, Snape was sitting in the drawing room, reading what appeared to be some type of Potions Journal. Harry didn't really understand the point of reading them. Or really, he didn't understand the point of them at all. Of course, he really didn't know much about Snape or potions, so he was probably just missing the point. Snape looked up when he noticed Harry enter the room.

"Ah, Harry. You are up. How about something to eat? Would you like anything specific?" Snape asked, almost a little too nice, which made Harry suspicious. _Is he planning something_? Harry asked himself. Snape was being very . . . _unsnape-ish_.

"Er, no. Anything is good," Harry answered, following Snape into the dinning room. He was beginning to think that Snape _did_ know it was his birthday, but if he did, why didn't he say anything about it? Harry was just _confused_.

When they got to the dinning room, there was food on the table already. Harry expected this; there was almost always food on the table when he arrived for breakfast. Today, there seemed to be an abundance of Harry's favorite breakfast foods: sausage, bacon, pancakes, grapes, and pumpkin juice. Harry sat down and started eating eagerly; Snape usually insisted on healthier foods for breakfast instead of greasy foods. It wasn't too long before Harry was stuffed, smiling.

"Let's go to the parlor, Harry," Snape suggested, and Harry got slightly worried. Snape normally only took that tone when Harry did something he wasn't suppose to . . . Almost reluctantly, Harry followed Snape, not noticing the small smirk that crossed Snape's face.

In the parlor, Harry notice a box on the coffee table that he couldn't remember seeing before. Still slightly confused, Harry sat down on the sofa after Snape sat in his usual chair and watched him closely.

"Happy birthday, Harry," Snape said, surprising Harry. He looked back and forth between Snape and the box in front of him, wondering if it was for him, or if Snape was teasing him. "Well, aren't you going to see what is in the box?" asked Snape, the amusement clear in his voice. Harry did so, and gasped at what he saw.

"Am I . . ."

"The Headmaster has already approved of him being at Hogwarts. You are allowed both Hedwig and the snake." Harry smiled, and took the glass tank out of the box.

"_Hello_," Harry greeted the snake.

"_Hello. Are you my master?_" he asked.

"_I guess so. Do you have a name?_"

"_No, I do not, Master_."

"_Call me Harry_," he told the snake. "_You are a he, right?_"

"_Yes, Harry._"

"_Okay . . . How about . . . Ohanzee? I think it means 'shadow', and you have the coloring of a shadow._"

"_Ohanzee sounds good._" Harry smiled.

"You like him, I assume," Snape said, standing up. On some strange impulse, Harry hugged Snape. He immediately backed off when he realized what he was doing, blushing.

"Very much, sir," Harry answered, examining the throw rug beneath his feet. "His name's Ohanzee, by the way. Thank you."

"Your welcome. I figured it only natural for a parselmouth to have a snake. He is a Black Rat Snake. I am told he will get to be about five feet long."

"Wow. That's long," Harry commented, looking down at Ohanzee.

"Yes. Now, I'm sure you have things to do. Would you like help bringing the tank to your room?"

"Er. . . yeah. That might be nice," Harry replied, walking over to the tank. "_Would you like me to carry you or would you like to stay where you are?_"

"_Carry me,_" Ohanzee replied, so Harry picked him up, and the snake started winding around his arm. Snape watched this encounter with interest. Harry notice.

"What?" he asked.

"Just thinking about how different parsel talk sounds coming from your mouth than it did from the Dark Lord."

"How do you mean?"

"It sounds . . . _nice_ when you speak it. It was always dark and unwelcoming when _he_ spoke it." Harry narrowed his eyes.

"How would you know?" Snape studied the boy, deciding on how to answer. The boy picked up on and read into things a lot. It was a good skill to have, but annoying nonetheless.

"I spied on him during the war, Harry," he replied, him tone suggesting the end of that topic. "Come, I'll bring this up." Harry followed Snape to his room. "Where do you want this?"

"_Where would you like your tank, Ohanzee?_"

"_Somewhere warm_."

"Er, somewhere warm." Snape nodded.

"I can charm it to keep a temperature comfortable for him," Snape answered, putting the tank on a table, then charmed it.

"Thank you, Professor." Snape nodded again, then left. Harry sat on his bed, and Ohanzee slid off him into the unmade bed.

"_I like this. Can I sleep on this_?"

"_Sure. I sleep here, too. I don't want to roll over on you or anything. . ._"

"_Do not worry, you won't_," assured the snake. Harry laughed, and Hedwig flew into the room, a parcel tied to her leg.

"Hi, Hedwig," he greeted her. He saw that the owl eyed Ohanzee. "Don't worry, Hedwig, he won't hurt you. His name is Ohanzee. Snape gave me him for my birthday." Hedwig nipped affectionately at her master, then pointed to the parcel tied to her with her beak. Harry untied it. "It's from Hermione. Is that why I haven't seen you for a couple days? You were visiting Hermione?" The owl gave a nod, and Harry sat down at his desk and took the letter that was taped to the top of the package.

_Dear Harry,_

_Happy birthday! I hope you are doing alright at the Dursleys. They aren't treating you bad, are they?_

_I was wondering how I was going to get your present to you, then Hedwig showed up! She's a really smart owl. Make sure you thank her again for me._

_France is so nice! We will be going home in two weeks. I'll tell you more about it when I see you. There is just way too much to put into writing! _

_Have you been hearing from Ron? I got a letter day from him. Egypt sounds so nice! I hope I am able to go there someday. Think about how much magical history I could learn there!_

_I'm going to the Burrow during the last week of the Holidays. I hope your aunt and uncle will allow you to come. Well, I hope you like your gift. Write back soon, Harry. I miss you,_

_Hermione_

_P.S. Ron says Percy is Head Boy. Ron doesn't seem to pleased about it._

Harry read the letter twice, then turned to the parcel. Of course, he was expecting it to be a book of something, but he was wrong.

"I broom servicing kit! Wow!"

"_What is it, Harry?_"

"_A birthday gift from one of my friends._"

"_Ah_." Just then, another owl, whom Harry recognized as Errol, the Weasley's owl, came through the window and fell-landed on the floor. Harry quickly untied the parcel and gave the old owl a treat before he turned to Ron's gift. It was a Pocket Sneakoscope. Harry grinned, just as a third owl, one Harry didn't recognize, came through the window. Harry relieved it of it's burden, offered it a treat, and it was gone straight away.

The gift was from Hagrid, a book called _The Monster Book of Monsters_. Harry decided that he would wait before he opened it. It looked dangerous.

"_Why all the birds?_" Ohanzee asked, sounding irritated.

"_They bring the mail from other people. That was probably the last one today_," Harry reassured his snake. He picked up the second letter that came with Hagrid's gift. It was the school supplies list for next year. Harry sighed and looked at the Hogsmede permission form. _Who would sign it?_ Harry asked himself. He wasn't living with his legal guardians, and even if he were, he doubted they would sign it. _I wonder if Snape could_ . . .? He decided to put it off until later, and he sighed.

"Harry, the headmaster is here to see you," Snape said flatly from the doorway. Harry looked up, startled.

"Okay. . ."

"He would like to see Ohanzee, if you would, also."

"Er . . . okay. If I can wake him," he said, looking at the snake sleeping in his bed. Snape left, and Harry went to wake Ohanzee up.

"_Anzee, come on. I want you to meet someone._" The snake stirred.

"_Does this person speak also?_"

"_No. I am the only one I know who can speak to you. But he still want to meet you_." Anzee coiled around Harry's arm, and they both went downstairs to the parlor.

"Harry. Is that the snake Professor Snape got you? He is very beautiful. What is his name?"

"Ohanzee. I've started to call him 'Anzee' for short, though."

"Very nice name."

"_Anzee, this is Headmaster Dumbledore from my school_," he told Anzee, and the snake turned to look at Dumbledore.

"_Hello_," Anzee greeted. At Dumbledore's confused look, Harry translated.

"He said hello, Professor." Dumbledore laughed.

"Why, hello, there, Anzee. Very nice to meet you. Harry, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday, and to give you this," he said, handing Harry a wrapped gift. Harry opened it.

"I'm told you enjoy learning about defense. I am sorry about the last two professors for the subject. I promise you, this next one will be much better. I am sure you will like him." Harry smiled and looked at the book in his hands. _Basic Defense Charms and Spells_.

"Thank you, Professor," he said.

"You're very welcome. Now, I must go talk to your potions professor about something. I will see you at a later time, Harry." Harry nodded, then went back to his room, intending on starting his new book.

"Hello, Severus."

"Albus. Am I wrong in assuming visiting Harry isn't your only purpose today?"

"You assume correct. I am also here to tell you that Harry's relatives arrived home today."

"Just in time for his birthday, huh? Come home just in time to treat the boy even worse on his birthday," said Severus, voice filled with contempt.

"Yes. I am afraid that if you didn't check up on him, he might not have lived this long," Albus said, shaking his head.

"I will be making a visit to Privet Drive tomorrow, Albus."

"I expected as much. As I said before, do not do any lasting damage. I _do_ need my Potions Professor."

"Of course, Albus."

"Until then, Severus."

"Until then."

Harry was in the midst of another nightmare. Anzee, noticing something was wrong with his master, went looking for the older human that gave him to Harry, the one called Snape. Not knowing any other place but downstairs, Anzee made his way down. He found the human in the room where he met Harry.

Knowing that the human wouldn't understand him, Anzee made his way to the table top and hissed quietly at the human.

"What are you doing down here, Ohanzee?" Anzee looked toward the stairs. "Is something wrong?" Anzee nodded, a gesture he noticed Harry do when Harry was agreeing to something. Hoping he wouldn't scare the human, Anzee slithered up the human's arm, and they made their way toward Harry's room.

In the room, Harry was tossing in his sleep, mumbling incoherent words. Severus put the snake down on the table next to the tank, not knowing if he wanted to go in or not. Right away, Anzee made his way into the tank and fell asleep, feeling that her master was fine because the older human would take care of him.

"Harry," Severus said to the distressed boy. "Wake up. You are having another nightmare." Harry slowly woke up. "Are you okay?" he asked once the boy was for sure awake. Harry nodded. "What was the dream about?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Harry said plainly.

"It might help if you did, Harry."

"I don't want to."

"Okay, then. Will you be okay if I leave?" Harry nodded. "Ohanzee came a got me when you had your nightmare." Harry looked around, almost panicked.

"Where is he?"

"He went into his tank when I came up," Snape answered. Harry got up and took the snake out of the tank.

"_I am better now. Thank you, Anzee._"

"_You're welcome, Master Harry. I am glad that the human could help you_."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, and went back to bed.

"Good night, Harry."


	5. A Visitor to Privet Drive

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: Short chapter. Sorry.**

**Anyway, if you like this, go check out my other stories: It's Mutual, The Merge of Wars, Justify the Means, United, Snow Wars, Where did he go? and Have You, Will You?. The last four are oneshots. **

**Thanks to: ****XxX-PhoenixGirl-XxX****Merry Sparrow****rayama****Umber****anime goddes****, Lynx, ****Lyric Z D****Forever Harry****, Romulus, ****hermione1208****spinnerofdark****, dubdigit, ****MoonLuvr****SaphirePhoenix****lady sakura cosmos****Miss Teinge****Fancyfree****Quillian****alwaysariyana****Obsidian-Dragon-Phoenix****HecateDeMort****Harulu Cane****Sevschoosen1****animealam****, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, ****XxMrs.PadfootxX****Lady Lily3****RidDles girl****Lady-Serena-Snape****SailorHecate****, and ****sakura13****for the reviews. Sorry if I miss anyone.**

**Chapter 5 - A Visitor to Privet Drive**

Harry walked into the parlor, and sighed when he didn't see Snape in there either. He did see Anzee, though.

"_Have you seen Professor Snape, Anzee?_" Harry asked.

"_I think he went outside to the garden. He was going out when I was coming in_." Harry laughed. Snape wasn't too happy at first that Harry wanted Anzee to be able to be able to wander around, but after awhile he agreed that it would be best. There _were_ a number of mice that seemed to inhabit the garden.

"_Okay, thanks_," Harry answered, then made his way to the back door of the manor. "Hi, Professor," he said to the man sitting in the shade, reading some book.

"Hello, Harry," Snape answered, not looking up from the book. "Nothing wrong, I hope?"

"No, I . . ." Harry paused. Something . . . "When did you start calling me Harry?"

"What?" Snape asked, finally looking up.

"You called me Harry. When did you start that?"

"I do not know," Snape answered, obviously confused. "I didn't even realize."

"Hmm. Neither did I. Well, I just wanted to say. . . I got my list for school. I was wondering . . ." Harry stopped. He never asked much of Snape, and didn't know what he would say about him asking to go to Diagon Alley.

"If I would bring you to Diagon Alley? Of course. Not today, though. I have other errands I need to run."

"Okay," Harry agreed, cheering up. He didn't know why he expected Snape to be mean to him. He _hadn't_ been mean. Strict, especially when Harry broke a rule, but fair nonetheless. "Thank you." Snape waved it off.

"I will be leaving in about an hour. I expect you can stay here for a few hours without destroying anything?"

"Yes, sir," Harry answered.

"Good. Call Miiki or Corda if you need anything."

"Okay. Good bye, sir."

"Good bye. Harry." Harry smiled and went to go talk to Anzee.

Severus thought as he walked toward Four Privet Drive from Arabella's house. When _did_ he start calling the boy Harry? The boy had only been at his house for two weeks, and he was already becoming soft. Severus shook his head.

When he came to the front door, dressed in black dress pants and a gray shirt, he knocked on the door. A women, who Severus believed to be Harry's aunt, answered the door.

"Yes?" she asked politely.

"Mrs. Dursley?"

"Yes."

"I am here to talk to you about your nephew." Dursley's face darkened.

"I have no nephew," she answered, and Severus started getting mad.

"So, that boy I found abandoned here two weeks ago was not your nephew?" Dursley went to slam the door shut, but Severus stopped it and pushed it open. "How could you do that to a child?" he asked, the venom strong in his voice.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Of course you do, Dursley," he said, pushing his way into the house, then closing the door. "Do you realize that if I hadn't come to check up on Harry, he would have might have died by the time you came home from your little _vacation_?"

"I . . ."

"How long have you been treating him like that?"

"You're one of _them_ aren't you? One of those freaks?"

"If by _freak_ you mean a wizard, yes, I am. But I don't believe it is I who is the freak. I would never treat a child the way you and your husband have done."

"He must have told you lies!"

"No, I don't believe he did," Severus said calmly, trying not to _crucio_ the woman. "He was deathly thin when I found him."

"What is going on here?" asked a fat man, walking into the room.

"Mr. Dursley?"

"Yes," he answered, narrowing his eyes.

"I am here about your nephew."

"The boy ran away."

"Oh? Did you report it to the . . . police?"

"He's one of _them_, Vernon," Petunia hissed, and Mr. Dursley's face turned an odd shade of purple.

"Get out! Now!"

"No. _Undimenta_," Severus said, aiming the hex at both adult Dursleys. The hex made whoever it was cast on feel the pain they inflicted on a specific victim. In this case, Harry. A depressing glum fell over the two. "_Petrificus Totalus _," he cast on them, then got up in their faces. "You will not get off free for what you have done. When Harry is ready to come out with it, this _will_ become public. I hear child neglect and abuse if just as frowned upon in the muggle world as it is in the wizarding world."

At first, Severus was planning on causing actual pain to the Dursleys, but he decided, after talking to Harry about them, that publically humiliating them would be more effective. He chanted a quick charm, looked over victims and smiled wickedly. He lifted the bond on the two muggles and left.

The charm would last until the Dursleys understood what they did wrong.

Severus' mind wandered back to Harry. He didn't exactly know how he felt about the child. He knew he felt . . . protective of the boy, but was that it? As much of a brat as Harry was, Severus realized that he really wasn't. He was defiant only on the rare occasions where he felt threatened.

Severus shook his head. He was becoming a member of Potter's fan club.

But he didn't care about Potter. He cared about Harry. The neglected, unloved, and lost child who only wants someone to care.


	6. Black

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: Yay! Another chapter, I'm on a role! I love spring break! Anyway, if you like this, go check out my other stories: It's Mutual, The Merge of Wars, United, Snow Wars, Where did he go?, Justify the Means, and Have You, Will You?.**

**Thanks to: ****momocolady****, hecatedemort, ****rayama****Lady Lily3****SailorHecate****hermione1208****RidDles girl****Tolandiel****Merry Sparrow****spinnerofdark****anime goddes****, dubdigit, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, greeneyes, ****Howl****Weirkat****Lyric Z D****, and ****Arwen-Evenstar-Elf**** for the reviews. Sorry if I missed anyone.**

**Chapter 6 - Black**

"Harry, settle down."

"Sorry, sir," he answered. "_What are you doing, Anzee?_" he asked his snake, who at this time was working his way into Harry's lap.

"_I am going to the table_."

"_I don't know if Professor Snape wants you on the table when we are eating_."

"_The sun is on the table. I want on the table_."

"_The sun is also outside. Why don't you go out in the garden?_"

"_I will stay here_," Anzee answered, curling up near the end of the table. Harry shook his head.

"What is he doing?"

"He wants to be in the sun."

"I see. We are going to Diagon Alley today," Snape said, changing the subject. "Get ready after you finish eating."

* * *

The first place they went in Diagon Alley was Madam Malkin's, but Harry wasn't paying attention to the stores. He was looking at the wanted signs that seem to be everywhere he looked.

"Who is Sirius Black?" Harry asked Snape, who turned to him with a dangerous look before he got control of himself.

"I will tell you later," was all Snape said before entering the shop. They weren't in there long before they were leaving with three school robes, shrunk in Snape's pocket.

"I can't believe he would assign _that_ book for a class," Snape said when they walked into Flourish and Blotts, and the manager came to greet them.

"Professor Snape! What can I do for you today?"

"We are here for Mr. Potter's school books."

"Oh," said the manager, paling slightly. "Do you have Care of Magical Creatures?"

"Yes," Harry said, but when the manager went to a cage that was holding a bunch of violent _Monster Books_, Harry quickly added: "Oh, I already have the book," which got a relieved look from the manager, and a suspicious look from Snape.

"Oh. Good. I have already been bitten five times this morning. This will be the last time we will stock those books. It's almost as bad as when we had the invisible books of invisibility. At least we can see these. What else do you need?"

"Er," replied Harry, looking at his list. "_Unfogging the Future, Intermediate Transfiguration, _and_ The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3_."

"Ah, Divination, eh?" Ten minutes later, Snape and Harry were leaving the bookstore.

"How did you get the monster book?" Snape asked the boy.

"Oh, Hagrid sent it to me for my birthday."

"I see. Do you need anything else?" Harry thought about this.

"Owl treats for Hedwig."

* * *

"So, who is Sirius Black?" Harry ventured to ask when they arrived back at Prince Manor. "And why is he wanted?"

"He escaped from Azkaban."

"What is that?"

"A wizarding prison."

"What did he do?" Harry asked, now curious. He knew people escaped from muggle prisons once in a while, but it couldn't be easy to escape a wizarding one. It was a long time before Snape answered.

"I doubt anyone wants me to tell you this, but he is the one who betrayed your parents to the Dark Lord."

"What!"

"He was the secret keeper for their hideout. After that, he murdered another one of your parents friends, along with many muggles, Peter Pettigrew."

"That means I'm not safe, am I?" Harry asked. Snape was surprised at the perceptiveness of the boy.

"There is no reason to be frightened, Harry. Even if he is after you, you are safe here, and he won't be able to get into Hogwarts."

"I'm not scared," Harry defended himself. Snape gave him a disbelieving look. "He can't be worse than Voldemort, can he?"

"Potter, promise me you won't go looking for Black."

"What?" Harry asked, surprised at the sudden change to his surname.

"Promise me you won't do something stupid and go looking for Black!"

"Professor, why would I go looking for someone I know wants to kill me?"

"I am serious."

"So am I! You may not believe me, but I don't want to be killed!"

"But you do have a habit of running head first into trouble."

"But I didn't know they were out to kill me!"

"Promise."

"Okay. I promise I won't go looking for Sirius Black."

"Good. Now, let's have some tea."

"Tea? Why?"

"Because I would like to talk with you, and you are all riled up."

"Why don't you just give me a calming potion then?"

"You are back talking too much today, Potter."

"Sorry, _sir_," Harry answered, not too happy by being called Potter. "Why are you back to calling me Potter?" Snape sighed.

"You get irritating. Miiki," Snape called. A house elf popped in.

"You called Miiki, Master Snape?"

"Yes. Tea in the parlor. Also bring some honey for Harry's tea."

"Yes, Master Snape," Miiki answered and popped out. Harry followed Snape into the parlor.

"What did you want to talk about, sir?" Harry asked, sitting down in his usual chair, while Snape sat down in his.

"The school year. In a week, I will be going to Hogwarts, but you will not be able to come. Therefore, you are to go to the Weasleys' for the last week of the summer," Snape replied, and Harry had to smile. He stopped when he thought ahead to the school year.

"Sir, when school starts . . ." Harry started, but didn't know how to continue. This had been his best summer ever, even though it was with Snape. But Snape took care of him. Although he figured Ron wouldn't like it at all, he didn't want Snape to start being mean to him once school started. He didn't want to admit it, but talking to Snape about stuff helped. "When school starts, would I still be able to talk with you?" Snape seemed surprised by the question.

"You want to?" he asked, curious.

"Er . . . yeah," Harry answered, slowly. "If you don't want to, though," he added quickly.

"Harry, if you want to talk, you can come to my office. You must realize, though, that this does _not_ make me like Gryffindor."

"Of course, sir," Harry replied. Snape had made it very clear over the summer that just because he was able to tolerate Harry didn't mean that he would be able to tolerate the rest of the Gryffindor house. Especially since he said that Dumbledore told him how the Hat wanted him in Slytherin. "You're not going to be mean to me like you were in previous years, are you, sir?"

"No. But I will not be pleased if you mess up a potion."

"Well, I can't do anything about that, now can I?"

"How about come to class prepared?"

"What do you mean? I read the chapter before the lesson . . ."

"Read through it _and _take notes on it, paying attention to detail. It also helps to read it more than once. In fact, I'd suggest starting today."

"Today? But it's summer . . ."

"Do you really have that much to do that you couldn't start reading through your books?"

"No, sir."

"Good. I am not saying that you need to have it memorized. Just read."

"Fine," Harry said. "Can I go flying?" Snape nodded.

"For a short while. I have to work in my lab today, so no more than an hour."

* * *

"Uh, Ron? When did you get a cat?"

"That's not mine. That's Hermione's. And it keeps trying to eat Scabbers!"

"No he doesn't! And besides, you can't blame him!"

"Of course I can! He keeps trying to eat Scabbers! And you, Harry! You spent the summer with _Snape!_"

"He was better than the Dursleys!"

"I don't believe that. The greasy git has always treated you terrible!"

"Yeah, well, he's _changed_, at least around me! He brought me away from the Dursleys, he bought me actual clothes that fit, I could eat all I wanted, he let me use my broom! And he never locked me in my room! And he bought me Anzee!" Both Hermione and Ron were silent, stunned. Hermione finally spoke up.

"Did he really do that for you?"

"Yes!" Harry said.

"Wow," said Ron. "Maybe he _has_ changed. What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything. Besides, I don't know if he would be nice to you guys. I never asked. He told me specifically he doesn't like Gryffindors. Several times."

"What makes you different?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "But, listen, I have to tell you something. Something that Professor Snape told me a week ago," he said, leaning in.

"What?" asked both Hermione and Ron.

"You know how Sirius Black escaped Azkaban?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Well, he said that Black was the one who told Voldemort where me and my parents were staying. Professor Snape says that he might be after me."

"That's terrible, Harry!"

"He says that I am safe at Hogwarts, though."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

"Hey, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to go back to the Dursleys' next summer?"

"No. He said I won't be going back there because of how they treated me."

"You _told_ him?"

"Yeah. He helped me a lot."

"I don't think you can trust him."

"I think I can. He's helped me a lot."

"And what if he just goes back to being mean?"

"He won't," Harry stated.

"Wait, who is Anzee?" Hermione asked, as if that little fact just came to her.

"My snake."

"_Snake_? Snape bought you a _snake_?"

"Yeah. For my birthday."

"I can't believe it."

"He's nice."

"Who, the snake or Snape?"

"Well, both."

"You're mad."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Okay, you two, stop fighting," Hermione said. "Can we see Anzee, Harry?"

"Sure, why not? He might be sleeping right now, though."

* * *

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger. Would you two come to my office, please? Don't worry, you're not in trouble." When they got to her office, they were beckoned to sit. Almost immediately, Madam Pomfrey and Snape came in.

"Professor Lupin owled a letter ahead saying you've taken ill on the train, Potter."

"Oh, it's you," said Pomfrey.

"Causing problems already, Mr. Potter?" asked Snape. Harry gave him a glare, and Snape smirked.

"I'm fine. It was just the dementors," Harry replied, blushing from all the extra attention. Pomfrey started checking him over.

"What needs to be done? Bed rest?"

"I'm fine!" Harry yelled. "Professor Lupin already gave me some chocolate."

"A defense teacher who finally knows his remedies," comment Madam Pomfrey.

"Yes," drawled Snape. Harry gave him a weird look. Snape usually took that tone when we wasn't happy about something. Harry made a note to ask about Lupin later.

"Professor Snape, may I ask why you have stationed yourself in my office?" asked McGonagall. Harry had to give a small smirk there.

"Just checking up on Mr. Potter," Snape said dryly.

"And why would that be?"

"That would be none of your business."

"Fine. Well, Potter, if you are truly feeling fine, I must ask you to wait outside while Miss Granger and I discuss her course schedule." Harry, Pomfrey, and Snape left after this. When Pomfrey was out of hearing range, Snape turned to Harry.

"The dementor's made you pass out?" Snape asked.

"I couldn't help it!" Harry defended himself.

"Relax, Harry. I'm just wondering what happened."

"I don't know. They came, I heard a lady screaming, I passed out, then the next thing I knew Professor Lupin was giving me chocolate."

"You heard a lady screaming?"

"Yeah. That's not normal, is it?"

"Dementors will make a person relieve their worst memories, over and over again, Harry. How each person reacts to it is quite different."

"So . . . but I don't remember . . . it's my mom, isn't it?"

"It's possible," Snape answered. Harry was going to asked something else when McGonagall's office door opened.

"Come on, Harry, let's get to the Great Hall. Oh, hello, Professor Snape," Hermione said, looking very happy.

"Miss Granger," Snape said, looking between the two third years. He turned to Harry. "I will talk with you later," he said stiffly, then left.

"What was that about?" Hermione asked once Snape was out of sight.

"He was wondering what happened."

"Oh. He didn't seem very nice about it."

"He was until you showed up."

"Hmph."

"I didn't mean it like that. You don't know him."

"Well, maybe now that _you_ know him, he'll start giving points to Gryffindor," Hermione hoped.

"I doubt it. Come on, let's go eat."

* * *

"Hello, Harry," greeted Snape when Harry walked in.

"Hello, Professor," Harry said with gloom, which got a look from Snape.

"How was your first week back," he asked, a little uncomfortable.

"That depends. First, Trelawney predicted my death . . ."

"You're still alive, it seems."

"And you already know about Malfoy," Harry finished. Snape narrowed his eyes.

"Yes. Stay away from Malfoy, Harry." Harry brushed Snape's comment off.

"It's not fair! He was the one who didn't listen to Hagrid's warning!"

"You can't do anything about it, Potter." Harry stopped at Snape's use of his surname again, and dropped it.

"Professor Lupin is nice, though. He took care of Peeves, and our first lesson was a boggart."

"Really. And what is your greatest fear?" Snape asked with fake boredom.

"Apparently, dementors."

"That makes sense, with recent events."

"You don't like Professor Lupin, do you?" asked Harry suddenly.

"Why do you ask that?"

"Every time I talk about him, you get this weird feeling to you," Harry answered slowly, thinking he was treading on dangerous ground.

"I never liked him."

"Why not? He's the only decent defense teacher we've had!"

"Why I don't like him is none of your business."

"Sorry, sir. Um, I was wondering if you would be able to sign the permission form for Hogsmede." Snape sighed.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but I can't do that. Technically, I am not your guardian."

"That's okay," Harry complied, sulking.

* * *

"So you thought I wouldn't be able to fight a the boggart?" Harry asked accusingly.

"Well, you see, Harry, the dementors . . ." Lupin said, then there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Snape came in, carrying a goblet of something that was steaming. Snape looked between Harry and Lupin.

"Ah, thank you, Severus."

"You should drink it right away. May I ask what you are doing here, Mr. Potter?" Harry shrugged.

"Ron and Hermione are in Hogsmede."

"I see," said Snape.

"I was just showing Harry my grindylow."

"Fascinating," Snape drawled.

"You may leave the goblet on the desk, Severus," Lupin said. Snape put it down, but made no move to leave. Harry looked between the two professors, and noticed that Snape was in one of those protective moods. He was rarely in those moods; usually just when he thought Harry was in trouble or hurt.

"I'm fine, Professor," Harry reassured Snape.

"And why would he be wondering that, Harry?" Lupin asked, and Harry started getting nervous.

"Er . . . I need to go . . . visit Hedwig. Bye, Professor Lupin, Professor Snape," Harry said, then left quickly, leaving Snape and Lupin alone.

"I would drink the potion, Lupin," Snape said flatly.

"Why does Harry seem to think that _you_ are worried about him?" Lupin asked, then downed the potion. "Disgusting."

"That is none of your business, Lupin."

"I was James friend, and Harry is his son. I have every right to know."

"If you care about him, where have _you_ been the past twelve years of his life?" sneered Snape. Lupin paled.

"You know very well I wasn't allowed to visit him. If it wasn't for me . . . being a werewolf, I would have taken him in when he was a baby. You know very well I am not allowed."

"Nothing stopped you from visiting him."

"You obviously don't know Lily's sister. Her and her husband refused." Lupin thought about what Snape said previously. "What do you mean?"

"Did you _know_ that the Dursley's would treat Harry the way they did?" hissed Snape.

"What? Why are _you_ calling him Harry? What did they do? I know they don't like wizards, but . . . no. They wouldn't take that out on a child would they?" Lupin asked softly.

"They _did_, obviously," sneered Snape.

"And where do _you_ come in on this?"

"He spent the summer with me," said Snape. This caused Lupin to bark out a laugh.

"You? Taking in a Potter?"

"No, I took in a neglected child for a summer. As much as I didn't like him before, he had no where else to go. He is nothing like his _father_ was."

"No, he doesn't seem to be. He's too . . . serious."

"He does have a habit of getting in trouble, though."

"Yes. The headmaster told me of his . . . happenings the past two years."


	7. The Proposal

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: I'm probably back to once a week for updating this story again . . . spring break is over :( Oh, well, I'll live.**

**Anyway, if you like this, go check out my other stories: It's Mutual, The Merge of Wars, United, Justify the Means, Snow Wars, Where did he go? and Have You, Will You?. **

**Thanks to: SpecialEddy11, Remusgrl01, ****1derland pixie****, lynxlw, ****azntgr01****, Lithe Emerald Serpent, ****spinnerofdark****Lyric Z D****Lady Lynx****TerraBerra****SailorHecate****, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, ****Intergalactic smart-ass****Lady Lily3****, dubdigit, ****Yana5****anti-thule****rayama****, and ****Plumbum**** for the reviews. Sorry if I miss anyone.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 7 - The Proposal**

The first term of the school year wasn't _too_ eventful. Black was somehow able to get into the castle, the dementors attacked Harry during a quidditch game, Harry's broom was destroyed, the twins gave Harry the Marauder's Map, Harry and Snape came to be much closer. . . and of course, the last weekend of the term, Harry finds out that Black is his Godfather. ((For the conversation between Hagrid, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Rosmerta in the Three Broomsticks, see HP and the PoA, Chapter ten: The Marauder's Map)).

"I can't believe you told Harry, Severus."

"Keeping Harry from that information will only work against him. He does have a right to know who is after him. Besides, I didn't tell him everything. Only that Black was their Secret Keeper."

"I still can't believe he would do something like that," complained Lupin. "He fooled us all!"

"I can . . ." a hurried pounding sounded on the door and Snape sighed. "Come in!"

"Why didn't you tell me!" Harry asked, angry.

"Tell you _what_, Harry?" Snape asked in a flat voice.

"That he's my _Godfather_! That he was their _friend_! You just said that he was their Secret Keeper! Not that he was best friends with my _dad!_" Harry yelled, and Lupin paled slightly. It went unnoticed by Harry, though.

"I thought it irrelevant."

"No! It's not irrelevant. He was their _friend!_ If I meet him I'll . . ."

"You'll _what_, Potter?" Snape interrupted.

"I . . ." Harry wanted to say he'll kill him, but he knew Snape would chastise him for even thinking it. "I don't know," he finally said, calming down as Snape pushed him down onto a chair.

"How did you find this out?"

"I overhead. . ."

"Who?"

"I don't know. Some people. They were talking about it," Harry lied, not wanting to get in trouble for being in Hogsmede. Snape didn't seem to believe him, but didn't push it. It was then that Harry realized that Lupin was in the office. "Hello, Professor Lupin."

"Hello, Harry."

"I have to go," Harry said suddenly, leaving to quick for anyone to stop him.

"How often does he visit you?" Lupin asked.

"What do you mean?" Snape asked dryly.

"Just wondering. I know if any other student came to talk to you like that, they'd have a week's detention immediately."

"He comes here . . . often."

"Often. I see. Do you know where he is going to go this coming summer?"

"Not back to his relatives."

"With you?" the werewolf asked. Snape narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know," Snape answered shortly.

"Do you want him to?"

"He wouldn't want to."

"I'm sure he would. He talks about you a lot." Snape gave Lupin a disbelieving look. "He does. And you talk about him enough, too."

"I do not," said Snape. Lupin laughed.

"Yes, you do, Severus." Snape glared at Lupin. "Have you thought of making guardianship . . . official? Or permanent?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Severus. Even _you_ can't be that daft. He comes to talk to you about things. You are the closet thing to a parent he has ever had."

"I would be no good as a parent."

"You seem to be doing okay now," stated Lupin.

"Why do I even bother talking to you?"

"Because you and I are probably the only adults who understand Harry."

"_Understand_ Harry? I _don't_."

"He seems to think so," said Lupin. Snape shook his head. "I have work to do. Think about it, Severus." Lupin left.

Severus did think about it. Although he seemed surprised at the idea when Lupin suggested it, Severus had been thinking about adopting Harry for the past few weeks. Not being able to stay enclosed his office, Severus decided to take a walk around the castle. He weighed his options while walked, as he had done several times before. By the time he found himself outside the headmaster's office, he had made up his mind. Giving the password (Orange Popsicle), he made his way to talk to Dumbledore.

"Ah, Severus. What can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked once Severus let himself in.

"Albus, what would it take for me to adopt Harry?" Severus had to stifle a laugh when Albus nearly dropped the stack of parchment he was holding.

"And why would that be, Severus?" the old wizard asked, a twinkle in his eye.

"I want to adopt him."

"Are you sure about this?" Severus took a breath.

"Yes. I've been thinking about for several weeks now. The only problem I could think of is if the Dark Lord . . ."

"You will not go back to spying if you adopt Harry. Harry needs a father more than we need a spy."

"But . . ."

"No. We will find other ways. You and Harry both need each other. You have changed, for the better, since before you took Harry in. Several other staff members have commented on your attitude lately, also. Students haven't, though."

"The students are, as usual, dunderheads."

"Of course, Severus."

"So what do I have to do?"

"Well, first, you will have to get a signature from Petunia Dursley which states that she is willing to give up guardianship. After that, you and young Harry, plus two witnesses, need to sign. I could get you the papers by this evening, if that is alright with you."

"Yes, of course," Severus answered, nodding.

* * *

Once again, Severus was walking toward four Privet Drive, only this time with a roll of parchment in his hand. He knocked on the door immediately after arrival.

"You again!" hissed Mrs. Dursley when she opened the door. Then she attempted to slam it in his face. Severus stopped it and pushed it open, noticing that the curse hadn't worn off yet.

"You will listen, or I will bring you to court on this matter." Dursley narrowed her eyes, but let him in nonetheless.

"What?"

"These are papers that, when you sign, say that you give up all rights of guardianship of one Harry James Potter."

"And?" Dursley asked impatiently.

"You will sign it."

"Why? Planning on adopting him or something?"

"Yes."

"What, were you one of Lily's friends or something? Who _are_ you?"

"I am Severus Snape."

"Snape? I've heard that name before . . . weren't you and . . . James? . . . always fighting or something? Why would you want to adopt his kid?"

"Why would you care? You have treated your nephew worse than dirt!"

"I don't care," said the woman with an air. "Where are the papers?" Severus smirked and unrolled the parchment.

"Sign here," he said, handing her the never-out quill. She looked at it with disgust, but took it and quickly signed her name.

"Now get out. If I ever see you again, I am calling the police."

"The police won't be able to do anything," Severus said, then left. Instead of going straight back to Hogwarts, he flooed to the Three Broomsticks so he could buy a small Christmas gift for Harry. He was planning on asking the child on Christmas.

Finding a gift for Harry wasn't very easy. Severus wasn't one to give useless trinkets for gifts. He preferred useful gifts on the rare occasions he got any, so he, in return, gave usual gifts. He finally settled on hand carved, wooden box (so said the lady behind the counter) of three snakes that had an expandable charm on it. Not liking to gift wrap, he had the lady wrap it for him in plain silver wrapping paper.

* * *

Harry knew he shouldn't be mad at Snape for not telling him exactly who Black was. In actuality, he was the only one who told Harry _anything_. As easy as it was for Harry to be mad at Snape in the past, it was hard to stay mad at him now, though.

"Anzee's getting really big, Harry," said Hermione.

"I know," he replied, stroking the snake in his lap.

"I still can't believe Anzee and Crookshanks get along. I mean, a snake and a cat? How _does_ that work?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Harry said, shrugging. "Anzee doesn't say anything when I ask."

"Well, at least we know that he isn't some wizard in his animangus form. Crookshanks would have run him out of here, wouldn't you have, crooky?" Hermione said. Ron rolled his eyes.

"Professor Snape bought him from a store. How . . . never mind," said Harry, remembering that the Weasleys also bought Scabbers from a store.

"Come on! Let's go eat. It's Christmas, so there's bound to be more, better food!" Ron said, standing up quickly.

"More better, Ron? I think you need to attend an English class or something, honestly!"

"No! That's not what I meant! I _meant_ that there will probably be better food than usual, and more of it, not more better! I'm not _that_ daft."

"I'm not so sure," Harry replied, laughing. "_Anzee, we are going to eat now. Would you like me to bring anything back?_" he asked his snake.

"_Yes, that would be nice, Harry. Are you going to be eating with the Snape human?_"

"_Well, I'm sure he will be there, but I'm not eating _just_ with him._"

"_Tell him to save food for me, too_," Anzee said, and Harry burst out laughing. "_And then I can eat when we visit him_."

"_We_?"

"_I will see you later, Master_," Anzee said, and slithered up the stairs to the third year dormitory.

"What was so funny?" Ron asked when Harry calmed down.

"Oh, I told him I would bring him some food, then he asked if Professor Snape was going to be there, too. He told me to tell him to save him food, also." Ron and Hermione just gave him a weird look. "It was funnier when he said it."

"Sure, Harry. Okay, let's go eat!" suggested Ron again, and the three made their way down to the Great Hall.

The hall was, as at breakfast, elegantly decorated. Although it was the Holidays, there was a high number of students, and teachers, who stayed at Hogwarts. When the trio walked into the Great Hall, they were surprised to see that there was only on table, about a quarter of the length of the house tables, in the center of the hall.

It seemed, though, that they were a few of the last ones to enter. There were only three seats that were relatively close to each other: one across from Snape and two right next to the professor. Ron immediately took the one farthest from Snape, and Hermione, the one across from him, leaving the last one for Harry. Of course, with all the meals with only Snape, Harry didn't mind.

"Hello, Professor," Harry greeted, sitting down. Snape grunted a reply, and Harry smiled. Harry looked around the table and noticed that many of the fifty students were giving him a sympathetic look. Suddenly, Dumbledore stood up and the room quieted.

"Welcome, everyone. Happy Christmas, everyone!" he said, clapped his hands twice, and food appeared, overflowing, on the table. For the first five minutes, everyone was relatively quiet while everyone was digging in, but after that, it seemed louder than when the hall was full.

"Anzee says you're suppose to save him some food, sir," Harry said quietly and to his plate, but loud enough for Snape to hear him.

"Did he really? Why can't you?" Snape drawled.

"Oh, I am. I guess it is for when _we_ visit you."

"_We_, eh?"

"That's what I said."

"Well, how about _we_ come for a visit later today, about two?"

"Sure," Harry said.

"I'll leave the food hoarding to you, though."

"I figured that, sir," Harry answered. He looked at Hermione, and saw she was staring at him, then at Ron who was doing the same. Harry shook his head. They knew he visited Snape often, but they still found it a little weird. Harry was glad that Snape wasn't mean to his friends anymore, though. He was still as strict as ever in class, of course, but he was never mean to Harry or his friends.

At two o'clock, Harry found himself outside Snape's office. He knocked, and Snape immediately opened the door.

"Come with me, Harry," the wizard said, and he followed him further down the corridor. They stopped at a tapestry with moving snakes and a wolf in a dark wood. Snape murmured something under his breath, and the tapestry turned into a stone door. Snape mumbled something else, then opened the door.

Harry wasn't surprised to see that the room they entered was decorated in a similar fashion to Prince Manor, only in greens and silvers. What surprised him was that Snape brought him here.

"Is this your room, sir?" Harry asked.

"My rooms," Snape answered flatly, and Harry nodded. He wanted to ask why they were here. He only been in Snape's rooms at Prince Manor a few select times, and those situations were nothing like this. Harry looked around and noticed they were in a sitting room type environment. On habit, Harry sat down on the couch.

Snape disappeared for a few minutes, then reappeared with two mugs. Harry groaned. For some reason, Snape liked tea. Harry wasn't too fond of it, but it did taste better with honey. Snape set the blue mug on the table in front of Harry then sat down. Harry picked up the cup and was surprised to smell chocolate. _Hot chocolate_, Harry thought. Harry smiled, then looked up. Snape handed Harry something wrapped in silver paper.

"Happy Christmas, Harry." Harry looked at the present in his hand, then back up at Snape. He smiled, then carefully unwrapped the gift.

"It's nice," said Harry, opening the box. "Thank you."

"Your welcome. Harry, did you like your summer at my house?" Snape asked suddenly, very uncharacteristically.

"Er . . . yes," Harry answered truthfully, confused at why Snape was asking. They sat quiet for a few minutes.

"Harry, I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to answer truthfully," Snape finally said, and Harry filled with dread. "Would you like me to adopt you?" Harry blanched. Whatever he was expecting to hear, that _wasn't_ it.

"What?" Harry finally got out. Snape sighed.

"I would like to adopt you. No matter your answer, though, our relationship will not change. If you say no, you will still be able to come and talk."

"You mean, adopt me, as in permanently?" Harry continued as if he hadn't heard Snape. "We'd be family?"

"Yes. You do not have to answer immediately. . ."

"Yes."

"What?" Snape asked, stunned that Harry answered so quickly.

"Yes. I want you to adopt me," Harry said, and put his cup down. He seemed unable to sit still. "What do we have to do?" Harry's smile was contagious, and Severus soon found himself smiling.

"We just need to sign this with two witnesses," Snape answered, holding up a roll of parchment.

"Let's go!" Harry said, jumping up. "Wait, who would the witnesses be?"

"Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Lupin have already agreed."

"Wait, you talked to them about it before me?"

"I wanted to make sure I would be able to before I asked you."

"Oh. Do you know where they are?"

"The headmaster is probably in his office. As for Lupin, the headmaster could call him using the floo," Snape answered, then sighed. "I suppose that you could call me Severus when not in class. Since I am adopting you, it wouldn't make much sense to call me professor all the time." Harry smiled and suddenly gave Snape a hug. He held it for longer than the first hug on his birthday, but it was still quick.

"Thank you," Harry finally said, quietly. "This is the best Christmas I've ever had. You keep doing things for me. I don't . . ."

"You deserve nice things to be done for you, Harry. Come on, let's go find those witnesses."

Three hours later, Harry and Severus were leaving Severus' rooms to go to supper. Harry spotted Ron and Hermione, and ran (well, walked quickly) to them to tell them what happened.

"Hey Harry, did Snape steal you or something? You've been gone for hours!"

"I have something to tell you guys," Harry said, dragging them to a corner of the Entrance Hall.

"Is it good or bad?"

"Good. Professor Snape adopted me."

"What!" Ron and Hermione nearly shouted. "When did this happen, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Today. That's why I was gone so long."

"It's all official? Everything?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. Snape as your dad? That's kinda weird," commented Ron. "If you're happy about it, though . . ." he said reluctantly.

"I am. It's for sure I never have to see the Dursleys again, and I have a family!"

"Does he have any other relatives?" Hermione asked. Harry thought about his.

"I don't know. I'll have to ask him. Come on, let's go eat."

"Harry, wait. What about the firebolt? It's not in our room anymore!" Ron said.

"And Anzee?"

"Oh, Severus is checking the broom over for curses. Anzee is also in his rooms."

"Are you sure he won't . . . wait. You called his _Severus_?"

"He asked me to. And he won't do anything to it, Ron!"

"No, why would he do that?" Hermione asked.


	8. The Truth Comes Out

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. A lot of this chapter is based on parts from HP and the PoA, though. **

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. It's been a busy few days.**

**Anyway, if you like this, go check out my other stories!**

**Thanks to: Village Mystic, ****Yukkienoloveless****NeoGetz2063****, Princess of Rivendell, ****GoldenPhoenix 12****HecateDeMort****moonravencrow13****animegurl088****, lynxlw, ****1derland pixie****hermione1208****Yana5****Merry Sparrow****Plumbum****anime goddes****Shadow Lighthawk****Quillian****, prettyprincess, ****Lady Lily3****RidDles girl****Moony's-Wolf****, and ****SailorHecate**** for the reviews. Sorry if I miss anyone.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 8 - The Truth Comes Out**

" . . . And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus has nothing to do with it . . . so, in a way, Severus' been right about me all along."

"Severus? _Snape_? What's Snape got to do with it?" Black asked harshly.

"What, Severus suspected you?" Harry asked, curious.

"He's here, Sirius. He's teaching here as well. And he suspected me at first. Lately he didn't, Harry."

"_Severus_? Why are you calling Snape _Severus_, Harry?"

"He's . . ."

"That's a long story, Sirius," Lupin said, then turned to the three kids. "At first he told Dumbledore that I am not to be trusted. He had his reasons, and I suppose he still does. You see, Sirius played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick that involved me."

"It serves him right," Black sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to . . . hoping to get us expelled . . ."

"Severus was very interested where I went every month," he told Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Sirius found it funny to tell Severus how to follow me. James found out, and was able to pull him out before he came all the way into this house. He still caught a glimpse of me, though . . ."

"So, that's why Severus doesn't really like you," Harry said slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," sneered a familiar voice from behind Lupin. Severus pulled Harry's invisibility cloak off, wand pointed at Black. Hermione screamed, and Black jumped to his feet. "I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," he said, throwing it aside. He threw a glare at Harry. "I think I'll keep it for _safe keeping_ for a while. I'm sure Azkaban is waiting for you, Black," he sneered.

"You . . ." started Black.

"Wait!" Harry said pleadingly. "Severus, let's hear what he has to say!" Both Severus and Harry had their wands pointed at Black.

"And why would I do that, Harry?" sneered Snape.

"He might be innocent!" he turned to Black. "I want proof."

"Then give us the rat," hissed Black.

"What are you going to do to him if I do?" asked Ron.

"Force him to show his true self," said Lupin. Severus took a step forward.

"Please, Severus!" begged Harry.

"Why do you keep calling his Severus, Harry? Snape doesn't . . ."

"HE ADOPTED ME, OKAY!" Harry yelled. "Proof, NOW, or I'll kill you myself," Harry hissed dangerously to Black.

"Harry," Severus warned.

"That git _adopted _you? Did you know about this Remus?"

"Yes, Sirius. Look, there's a lot . . ."

"AND YOU ALLOWED IT?"

"Yes. Sirius . . ."

"PROOF NOW!" Harry yelled, catching the attention of everyone in the shack.

"Give me that rat, Ron, please," Remus said. Ron reluctantly gave up Scabbers. "You know the charm, Severus?" Severus nodded with a glare, as if he didn't believe this was happening. "On the count of three . . ."

* * *

"I can't believe Professor Lupin left!" Harry complained to Severus after saying goodbye to Lupin.

"It was his choice, Harry," Severus answered.

"I also can't believe I let Wormtail get away! Sirius wouldn't have to go into hiding if . . ."

"Harry, you also saved Black from getting the Dementor's kiss. With a very powerful Patronus Charm, at that."

"I know, but . . ."

"Harry, do not go through the 'what if's'. What's done is done."

"What about my cloak?" Harry changed the subject.

"You will get it back when you are 16."

"Aw, come on!"

"You need to stop dismissing the rules that are laid out for your safety, Mr. Potter. You can have very well been killed."

"But I wasn't! I don't see why I'm grounded . . ."

"Harry, you have no concept of rules. Although this is probably because of your . . . the _Dursleys_, you need to learn to behave yourself," Severus said sternly. "And so you are being punished." Harry huffed, and was about to leave when Severus spoke up again. "This is for your own good, Harry. I will be waiting at the train station for you to bring you home."

"Fine," Harry said sharply, then left.

* * *

"I can't believe you got grounded, Harry," Ron said.

"I can. We did the right thing, but it was still very dangerous." Hermione.

"Come on, Hermione! Sirius is innocent and _free_."

"Not entirely, free," grumbled Harry. "He has to stay in hiding because Wormtail got away."

"That's not your fault, Harry," Hermione said. Just then, a small owl flew through the window, and dropped a letter onto Harry's lap.

"It's from Sirius!" Harry said after ripping it open.

"Read it aloud!"

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope this get to you before you get to Snape's. He probably won't be happy that I'm sure he doesn't want to writing to you. There is another letter with this one. It's for the git. Remus explained what happened. I can't believe Lily's sister and her family would do that to you! It does sound like the Snape does care about you. I don't like it, but I am willing to be nice to Snape for you. Well, not nice, but not mean, either._

_Buckbeak and I are in hiding. I won't tell you where, in case this owl falls into the wrong hands. I have some doubt about his reliability, but he is the best I could find, and he did seem eager for the job._

_I believe the dementors are still searching for me, but they haven't a hope of finding me here. I am planning to allow some Muggles to glimpse me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so the security on the castle will be lifted._

_There is something I never got around to telling you during our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the Firebolt. Crookshanks took the order to the Owl Office for me. I used your name, but I told them to take the gold from my own Gringotts vault. Please consider it as thirteen birthdays' worth of presents from your godfather._

_If you ever need me, send word. Your owl will find me._

_I'll write again soon._

_Sirius_

_P.S. I thought your friend Ron might like to keep this owl, as it's my fault he no longer has a rat._

"Wicked!" Ron yelled. "I wonder what Snape's letter says. We should . . ."

"Ronald!"

"I was just saying."

"Well, don't."

* * *

_Snape,_

_Remus talked to me, and I guess I understand. I'm not too happy about it. I never liked you. Still don't. But it seems like you care for Harry, and that's what counts. If I find out you have been treating him badly, though, don't expect to get away with it._

_I realize that legally you could renounce me as Harry's godfather. This is why I am willing to be civil. He is my godson, whether you wish him to be or not, and I, as well as Harry (I hope), like it that way._

_I don't expect a reply, but I would like one. Send it with Harry's owl, she'll be able to find me._

_Black_

Severus looked over the letter again and again. He _did_ hate Black. But Harry has already shown attachment to the mutt. He was planning on not bothering to answer, but decided to anyway.

_Black,_

_The feelings are mutual, but I am willing to set forward a truce for Harry._

_Snape_

"What did he say?" Harry asked after Hedwig left with the letter.

"None of your business."

"If it's about me, it _is_ my business," Harry rebutted. Severus just glared at him and didn't answer. "Fine. Are you at least going to let me write him?"

"Would I be able to stop you?"

"No."

"I didn't think so. But I will allow you to write him. Don't write him too often, though. The more owls sent, the more chance of interception."

"Okay, thank you!" he said, giving Severus a quick hug.

"Now get to bed."

"But . . ."

"Now," ordered Severus.

"Fine."

"You've been saying that a lot lately. I don't think I like it."

"What else am I suppose to say?"

"How about, 'Yes, sir'?"

"How about 'fine, sir'?" Harry said, then ran to him room before Snape could reprimand him for talking back.


	9. The Sickness

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: This is a week late coming out, but it's not my fault! My muse decided to take a short vacation, leaving me only with a _very_ short chapter outline. Gets a glare from her muse. I'm probably going to get in trouble for saying that about her. Anyway, when she came back, I was able to get this out. Second longest chapter of the story! I guess the vacation was needed.**

**Anyway, if you like this, go check out my other stories!**

**Thanks to: Princess of Rivendell, ****HecateDeMort****charmedsisters****citruspeach****Cindy Snowflake****Avallyn Black****momocolady****, Serenity1910, katplwe, ****anime goddes****SufferingIdentityCrisis****Moony's-Wolf****Lady Lily3****RidDles girl****, Lynxlw, dubdigit, ****Merry Sparrow****Val'istar En' Alu****Yana5****SailorHecate****Caliko****, Romulus , ****Drakeluvr****Arwen-Evenstar-Elf****rayama****spinnerofdark****alwaysariyana****, and ****Quillian****, for the reviews. Sorry if I missed anyone. Also, thanks to everyone who took the time to give me some very constructive criticism, for this story and my others.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 9 - The Sickness**

"Severus?"

"Yes?"

"How do you think Sirius is doing?"

"Have you heard of him being caught?" Severus sneered.

"No."

"Then I'm sure he's doing fine. As fine as a mutt can."

"I thought you were going to be nice to him," Harry complained.

"I said I'll tolerate him."

"Same thing."

"No, it isn't. Now eat, you're too short."

"Hey! That's not my fault."

"Not now. But if you choose not to eat, you will stay short," Severus said flatly, and Harry glared at him.

"I'm not hungry, though."

"How can you not be hungry? You barely ate anything all day!"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm used to not eating a lot at this time of the year . . ." Harry trailed off.

"That is no excuse. Now eat." Harry picked at his food, eating a few bites here and there. By the time Severus was finished eating, Harry had only finished about a quarter of what was on his plate. Severus glared at Harry.

"I'm not hungry!"

"All right, then. But you _will_ eat more tomorrow."

"Fine," Harry answered sullenly. "But what if I'm not hungry tomorrow?"

"You have to eat sometime, Harry. And I told you not to use the word 'fine'. I may have adopted you, but you _still_ need to respect your elders," Severus said flatly. Harry just glared at him stood up, picked up Anzee roughly and walked out of the room.

"_Where are we going?_" Anzee asked, annoyed. "_I was sleeping_."

"_Outside,_" Harry answered, just as roughly as he picked him up.

"_What is wrong, Master?_" Anzee asked, concerned.

"_Nothing. Severus is just being bossy_."

"_Isn't he supposed to be? I thought human fathers are supposed to tell kids what to do._"

"_I don't know. I'm just not . . . use to it, I guess. And hey, you're supposed to be on _my_ side._"

"_He was talking about you needing to eat, right? Then I think I am on your side,_" Anzee said in his know-it-all attitude. Sometimes, Harry found the snake annoying, as much as he liked him.

"_I thought you were sleeping_," Harry said, setting Anzee down in the grass. He then sat down on the swing he found last summer. Harry sometimes went there to think, and right now, he needed to.

"_I was, but, as usual, you two talk too loudly. And too much_."

"_You don't seem to talk any less_," Harry rebutted, then started swinging. He didn't know why he was so touchy right now. Harry knew that Severus was only trying to help him, but for some reason, he just wanted to be left alone. That included Anzee right now, too. He didn't know why he bothered bringing the snake outside with him. Anzee seemed to take the hint, though, because he slithered off somewhere.

Just when Harry was starting to feel better, Severus seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Harry," Severus greeted.

"What?" Harry asked a little too forcibly.

"What is wrong with you today?" Severus asked, more to himself then to Harry.

"Nothing. I just want to be left alone."

"It's getting dark. Come inside," Severus said softly.

"No."

"Harry," Severus warned.

"No," Harry answered, even more defiantly.

"Harry, you are coming inside, whether you like it or not," Severus said dangerously, stopping the swing Harry was on, and dragging him by his upper arm into the manor.

"Stop it!" Harry slurred. Severus did stop, but not because Harry told him to. He stopped because Harry slurred the words. Using a quick spell, he checked the child's temperature. It read 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

"You have a fever, Harry, you are going to bed."

"No!"

"So, are you going to be like this every time you get sick?" Severus asked with sarcasm.

"I'm not sick."

"Yes, unfortunately for me, you are. Now, get in bed, I'm going to brew you a fever reducing potion," he said, making Harry sit down in his bed. When it appeared that the boy would stay, Severus walked quickly to him lab.

Severus wasn't used to ill children. That was always Pomfrey's job. He just made the potions. An injured child, he could handle fine. He was used to that. He was tempted to fire call Poppy and have her deal with it, but he figured that she probably wasn't anywhere where he could contact her at this time of the year.

Starting the potion, Severus thought about how Harry had been acting for the past few days. He had been talking back, rude, and had been disregarding most of what Severus told him to do. Harry wasn't quiet anymore, but he wasn't _that_ rude.

Half an hour later, the potion was finished and he cooled it with a charm. He made his way down the hall to Harry's room, only to find that he wasn't there. Sighing and pocketing the vial, he went back outside, expecting him to be back on the swing. Severus was right, and he briefly worried about the boy's skill at being discreet.

"Harry," Severus said, walking up to the boy.

"Leave me alone."

"You need to take the potion," he said, holding out the vial. "Or I will force it down your throat," he continued before Harry could refuse.

"I dare you to try," said Harry with a smirk on his face. Harry jumped off the swing unexpectedly and was running before Severus could stop him. Not wanting to, but seeing no choice, Severus stunned him and carried the boy up to his room. Before waking Harry, he went to get a sleeping potion, and was able to get both into him before he uttered "_ennervate_".

"What . . .?" Harry asked groggily before the sleeping potion took over.

"Just sleep, Harry," Severus said to his sleeping child. "I obviously didn't know everything I was getting into when I adopted you," he continued. "I probably shouldn't have stunned you, but I didn't know what else to do." Severus gently moved a piece of hair out of Harry's face, then left to talk to someone. He didn't know who, but _someone_.

He was tempted enough to go to Molly Weasley, but decided against it. Poppy? Yet again, probably away. Lupin? Severus let out a bark at that. He might make a decent teacher, but raising a kid would never be something the werewolf would know much about. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of anyone he knew well enough who had kids except for Lucius, and he was _not_ going to him for help with _Harry Potter_. It would be suicidal.

He was surprised that Malfoy hadn't already heard that he adopted Harry. No doubt he had his son, Draco, keeping an eye on him. Most people didn't know, though, and those who did probably didn't talk about it much. There were a lot of people who didn't think Severus capable of taking care of a child, much less the boy-who-lived.

Which left out asking Minerva. She didn't straight out say that she didn't like it, but Severus could tell. He hadn't been her student for seven years, and her colleague for about 13 years for nothing. He shortly thought about taking to Albus – the old man had several children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren – but with his all-knowing attitude and his giving out candies for every little thing, he also thought twice about that.

_Which leaves who_, Severus asked himself, irritated. He had a sick child upstairs, and he didn't know what to do. As if he had forgotten about him, and suddenly remembered, Severus rushed upstairs to check on him. His fever was still high. In fact, it was a few points of a degree higher.

Feeling left with no choice, Severus walked to his parlor, threw in some floo powder, and called the Weasley home.

"Mrs. Weasley?" Severus asked with hesitation.

"Yes?" she replied, just as hesitant.

"This is Severus Snape. I'm assuming you heard that I adopted Harry from your son?"

"Yes, yes, of course. How is Harry? Is something wrong?" she asked, starting to sound worried.

"That's what I'm calling you about. Harry has gotten a fever, and the fever reducing potion, which should have worked immediately, did not work."

"Oh. Well, move out of the way, I'll come through in a minute," she replied. "Kids, I'll be back in a bit," Severus heard he call out as he moved. "Now, where is he?"

"Upstairs," Severus said, starting to walk out of the room, wondering if he made the correct decision in calling Weasley. In Harry's room, Weasley went to his son's side immediately. "I also gave him a potion for sleep. He was being rather . . . stubborn."

"Oh, dear. I heard from a few other parents that their kids caught something at school," Molly said as she put her hand to his forehead, then cheeks. "Oh, dear. He's burning up! You said you gave him something for the fever?"

"Yes. About half an hour ago."

"Well, don't just stand there! Go get some cold water and a washcloth! If his fever gets much higher, it could be dangerous!" Molly said, sounding like the anxious mother she is. Severus obeyed, not knowing what else to do. A few minutes later, he was back with a few washcloths and an empty basin. With a simple charm, the basin was filled with cold water immediately.

Severus noticed that while he was gone, Harry had become restless in his sleep. Still not knowing what to do, he watched, helpless, as Molly Weasley fussed over Harry.

_"Wormtail," hissed a voice. "I need my feeding."_

_"Yes, yes, of course Master," replied Wormtail. Harry couldn't see either the voice or Wormtail. Harry felt himself become angry. Wormtail betrayed his parents, and here he was! He was going to kill him! Harry felt for his wand, but didn't find it. He looked down at himself and realized he was slightly transparent. _Am I dead?_ Harry wondered. He took a step, expecting himself to float, but he didn't._

_Harry looked around and spotted Pettigrew. Well, the side view of the rat, anyway. He was feeding something, but from this angle, Harry couldn't tell what. He was about to take his chances by walking closer (he did appear to be invisible, or something), when a giant snake slithered past. Normally, Harry wasn't afraid of snakes. He owned one! But this snake didn't seem nice. There was this evilness that seemed to radiate off of him. Or her. Harry wasn't sure what the snake was, exactly._

_The snake didn't seem to notice his presence, though, so Harry quietly walked forward. He stopped in a shadow that falling wall made, and took this time to look around. It was some sort of run down building. If you could call it that. Harry was surprised that he hadn't fallen through the rotting floorboards, and much more surprised that Wormtail, who was that much heavier than Harry, hadn't either._

_Turning his attention from the floor to the ceiling, he noticed that curved down in the center. Like it was going to collapse at anytime. Seeing that, Harry really didn't want to move away from the wall. If the building collapsed, he had a feeling that the ceiling would collapse first. He made sure he didn't lean on the wall, just in case._

_After a few minutes Wormtail moved and put whatever he was feeding in a chair. Harry briefly thought of what it could be, when he mentally hit himself. Who else would the rat call Master? It had to be Voldemort! He had to have found a way to have some sort of body . . . but why one that needed to be fed by someone else? It couldn't have been a baby's body. A baby wouldn't have that voice . . ._

_"The news you have brought me is quite disturbing, Wormtail," the voice finally said._

_"Yes, my Lord, it is. What do you plan on doing about it?"_

_"Nothing, now. I am too weak. Soon, though . . . soon he will ever regret betraying me."_

_"How soon, my Lord?"_

_"You dare ask me?" Voldemort taunted._

_"No, my Lord. I was just wondering if you have any orders for me, Master."_

_"You know I have none for you as of this moment. My plan has already been put into motion. Everything will be ready for the tournament."_

_"I could see if I can find where Snape lives. It shouldn't . . ."_

_"Do you wish to leave me, Wormtail?"_

_"No, Master! I just wish the traitor to get what he deserves," Wormtail said with his head down, and Harry blanched when he realized that they were talking about Severus! They were planning on attacking him! "Adopting that brat. When I was at Hogwarts, I wanted to find him and kill him right there!" Wormtail said with anger._

_"And why didn't you?" sneered Voldemort._

_"I felt that you would want to take care of him. It is your oath he broke."_

_"You felt right, if that was your true motive, although I believe you didn't kill him because you were too afraid. As much as I wish to punish the traitor immediately, I feel taking care of Potter would be more painful for him, if what you say it true."_

_"Yes, my Lord. _Snivellus_ has grown very attached to the brat. A rare day went by when Potter didn't visit him. And he adopted Potter on _Christmas_ of all days."_

_"To give the orphan a nice Christmas, I suppose," sneered Voldemort. Wormtail was smart and stayed quiet. Suddenly, there was a sound of someone outside the building. "Wormtail, find out who that is. If it is a threat, kill it and bring it in for Nagini."_

_"Yes, my Lord," Wormtail said, then left. Harry wondered what the tournament that Voldemort was talking about was, and if Severus knew about it. He was going to have remember to warn his da-Severus whenever he got out of . . . whatever this was. _

_Harry took his chance and sneaked forward. He wanted to get a look at what Voldemort looked like, Something inside him told him he shouldn't chance it, that they might be able to see him, or sense him, but he ignored it. He needed to know._

_What he saw grossed him out. It was the size of a baby, but it looked nothing like one. It looked like a demon that Harry once saw in one of his DADA books. _Maybe that's what Voldemort is,_ Harry thought._ A demon who disguised himself as a human._ Harry shook his head and turned around to walk away. He didn't want to look at him anymore._

_"_Do you sense that, Nagini?_" Harry heard Voldemort hiss in Parseltongue, and Harry froze. If Voldemort knew he was here . . ._

_"_No, Master. I sense no one. Nor did I see or smell anyone when I was coming back,_" the snake answered back. Voldemort didn't answer, and Harry sneaked a peek behind him. Voldemort was looking in his direction. Suddenly scared, Harry ran out of the room. At this time, Wormtail was coming back, with what looked to be a dead muggle child. Harry went around the rat and out of the building._

"Okay, now switch the washcloth every time it starts to warm up. If he still has a high fever when he wakes up, I suggest an cold bath. He won't like it very much, but it is dangerous for fevers to be so high for a long time. If it persists, call a mediwitch or wizard. If he has what the other children have caught, they'll know what to do," Molly rambled on, standing in front of the fireplace. Severus raised an eyebrow at her, but she didn't seem to notice. "Just firecall me again if you need any help. Now, I really should be getting back. No telling what those kids will do while I'm out of the house! Especially with whatever the twins are up to. They are up to _something_, I know that much."

Severus just nodded, then sighed when the lady finally flooed out. As much as he was grateful for her help, he couldn't stand her. She always had too much energy, and was always in her Mother Mood, as Severus called it. When Severus was sure that Weasley was gone, he headed upstairs to check on Harry again. Before he reached the top of the stairs, he heard a scream, and he ran into Harry's room.

Harry was sitting up and breathing heavily. Severus quickly walked to the bed.

"Harry?" Severus asked. Harry didn't respond. "Harry? Are you okay? Harry!" Finally, the child realized that Severus was in the room.

"What?" he asked groggily.

"Are you all right?" Severus asked again. Harry looked confused at the question.

"I don't know. Why?" Harry asked. Severus checked his temperature again. Still 103.

"You are sick. Did you have a nightmare?"

"Nightmare? I don't . . . I don't remember. Why?" Harry asked again, and Severus sighed.

"You woke up screaming," Severus answered softly.

"Oh," Harry answered, obviously still confused. _Probably the fever_, Severus thought. _At least he isn't rude anymore_.

"Come, you are taking a cold bath," he told the child, uncovering him.

"Cold? I'm already cold," complained Harry.

"Only because you have a fever."

"Shouldn't I be hot them?" Harry asked, and nearly fell when he got off the bed. Not believing that Harry would make it to the bathroom, even if it was only across the room, Severus picked the boy up. "Hey!"

"You can't stand," Severus explained.

"I can stand fine! Let me down!" Harry said, struggling.

"When we get to the bathroom."

"I don't want to take a bath," whined Harry again.

"You need to get your fever lowered."

"No," Harry whined, and Severus almost wished for the mouthy Harry. If there was one thing Severus hated more than a disrespectful kid was a whiney kid.

"Yes," Severus answered, putting Harry down. "Now, stop complaining or I will give you a potion to make you," Severus threatened, and Harry glared at him. He stopped complaining, though. Harry filled the tub with cold water. "Harry, I know you aren't going to like this, but you need to be in the cold water. Your fever can't get any higher."

"Can't you just give me a potion or something."

"I did. It didn't work. Now, get undressed, unless you want to get your clothes wet."

"Do you have to be in here?"

"I don't want to falling asleep in the bath."

"I won't."

"You have a fever. You might. I won't watch. In fact, I'll get a journal and read just outside there door. Do _not_ leave," Severus warned, then went to his room to get something to read, careful to listen in case Harry decided to run again. Thankfully, he didn't, and by the time Severus got back, Harry was starting in his underwear staring at the tub right great loathing.

"Get in the tub, Harry," Severus ordered, dragging a chair to sit beside the door.

"It's cold."

"It will help you feel better," Severus replied, like he was talking to a small child. _That's what Harry's acting like right now_, he thought to himself. A minute later, he heard Harry get in. "All right?" he asked.

"No," grumbled Harry, and Severus shook his head. Severus asked the same question every minute for the next five, when Harry finally decided he wanted out. Unfortunately, he didn't bother to ask. Just when Severus was about to ask if he was all right, he heard a crash from the bathroom, and he rushed in to find Harry on all fours in the tub, trying to get up.

"What happened?" Severus asked, worried.

"I tried to get out and I slipped."

"You should have asked for help," he answered, and helped Harry out of the bath. Harry's teeth were chattering, so Severus put a warming charm on a towel and wrapped him in it. He figured he shouldn't, because of the fever, but it was down to 99, which wasn't very high. Harry had even more trouble walking than before the bath, so Severus carried him back to his bed and tossed him some clean pajamas.

"I'll be right back. Get dressed," Severus ordered, then went downstairs. Harry was weak, and he was wondering if the cold bath had been a good idea. It certainly cooled the fever, but it also seemed to weaken him. Making a quick decision, Severus went to the parlor to firecall St. Mungo's. Five minutes later, he made his way up to Harry's room to tell him a mediwitch was coming in a few minutes, and he found him still wrapped up in the towel, asleep.

"Harry," Severus said, giving the boy a small shake.

"Wha. . ."

"Wake up, you need to get dressed. A mediwitch is going to be here soon."

"What? Why?"

"Why do you think, Harry. Now, get dressed, or I will dress you myself," Severus threatened. That got Harry going, if rather slowly. In the end, Severus did have to help Harry get his shirt on. Harry fell asleep just as the mediwitch called from the bottom of the stairs. "Up here," Severus answered. "He fell asleep again."

"What are his symptoms?" the witch asked.

"Fever. He's weak. And cranky."

"Hmm. That sound like something that has been going around."

"That's what I've been told. What's his name?"

"Harry," Severus answered, not bothering to give the last name. The witch thought nothing of it, thankfully.

"Harry, could you wake up please?" she asked.

"Uhh. . ." Harry answered, but he opened his eyes.

"How do you feel?"

"Cold," Harry answered quietly. The witch nodded, then cast a series of charms.

"What have you done for his fever?"

"I've given him a potion, which didn't work, and gave him a cold bath."

"He appears to have the Mina virus. It's nothing serious. There has been about ten children so far this summer who have caught it. It doesn't appear to infect anyone over the age of sixteen. It lasts about a week, and there is not much you can do besides keep him fever down. Give him about a spoonful of this anytime his fever gets higher than 101, and keep a cool rag on his forehead," the mediwitch said, getting ready to leave. "Mungo's will bill you. If it gets worse, firecall again. It shouldn't get worse than this."

Severus showed the witch to the parlor fireplace, then went back to Harry, who had fallen asleep again. He sat on the bed, waking Harry up slightly.

"What am I going to do with you, Harry?" Severus asked, then got up to leave.

"Don't leave," Harry mumbled, grabbing hold of Severus' robes. Seeing as he was planning on going to bed soon anyway, Severus did stay, and Harry snuggled close to the man he started calling Dad in his head sometime during the night.


	10. Surprises

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The dream (vision) was modified slightly from Harry's vision from chapter one of GoF to fit this story.**

**A/N: Wow, this is late coming out. Couldn't get myself to write it. That, and I'm busier with school because finals are coming up. I was surprised at the review turn out for last chapter. Over 20 in less than 24 hours!**

**Anyway, if you like this, go check out my other stories!**

**Thanks to: Princess of Rivendell, ****Harrysmate****Kahlann****Barby-Black****Texas Dragon****ShiroLight****Morgaine00000016****FastFuriousChick****SailorHecate****GoddessMoonLady****Lady Lily3****Yukkienoloveless****mywayornoway****Merry Sparrow****, lynxlw, ****Proops****Yasmine Lupin****HecateDeMort****Shdwcat27****, prettyprincess, ****AnnF****, dubdigit, ****RidDles girl****bandgeekforlife****Myrddin Ambrosius****Moony's-Wolf****hermione1208****hope99****, SnapesYukuai, ****Yana5****Sevschoosen1****charmedsisters****momocolady****, and ****Quillian**** for the reviews and stuff. Whew! That was a lot.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 10 - Surprises**

"Harry? How are you feeling?"

"Hmm?" Harry answered, not quite awake. He didn't notice as Severus cast a charm to check his temperature because he went right back to sleep, causing his guardian to sigh. His temperature was 100 degrees Fahrenheit, no where near as bad as it had been the night before. Knowing the boy had to eat, he gently shook the child awake. "Eh," Harry groaned.

"Harry, you need to eat something," Severus said, and the boy finally opened his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Huh? Icky," he said, hiding under the covers.

"Icky," Severus said, sarcastically.

"Yes, icky. There isn't any other way to describe it," Harry complained.

"Right. Do you think you are well enough to get ready yourself?"

"No," whined the boy. "I don't want to get out of bed." He turned on his side, back to his guardian.

"I thought as much. You should be back to normal in about two days." Severus stole a glance at Anzee, who had seemed to take up permanent residence on the foot of Harry's bed for the past week. Severus believed that snake could sleep through anything. "One of the house elves will bring you food. I need to leave for a few hours. You'll be alright?"

"Yes. I want to sleep. Go."

"You have a mouth, child," Severus reprimanded before leaving, figuring Harry had already fallen asleep. He quickly told one of the house elves to make sure that Harry ate, and then flooed to Hogsmede. Harry's birthday was coming up soon, and he had no idea what to get him. It was pretty hard to do better than the snake from last year.

Severus knew enough about Harry now to know that he never had a birthday party before, so against his better judgement, Severus had already decided on a surprise party. Albus had already agreed and had contacted the Weasley's, the Granger's, Lupin, and, unfortunately, Black. The Weasley's already knew about Black's status, and Miss Granger would probably tell her parents that the escapee wasn't guilty (_for the murder, anyway_, thought Severus), so there would be no problem there.

At first, he thought about having the party elsewhere besides his manor. The last thing he wanted was for Harry's friends to have a run of the place, but he decided the manor was best, especially if Black was coming. Didn't need the ministry to be informed somehow.

But that still left what to get the child. And after an hour in Hogsmede, he still had no idea. He thought about what Harry liked: quidditch . . . and flying. Severus thought hard. The boy had to like more than that. He wasn't a big on studying; like learning, yes, but not studying. _With how much I've talked with Harry, you would think I would be able to think of something_!

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Harry woke up to Miiki, the older house elf, poking him. This wasn't entirely unusual, since Harry had told both the house elves that if Harry needed to get up, and wouldn't, that they should poke him until he did. It always worked with Ron. But Harry wasn't unsure why he needed to get up.

"What?" Harry mumbled.

"Master Harry needs to eat. Miiki brought food."

"I'm not hungry."

"Master Snape said that Master Harry must eat."

"Where is Severus?" Harry asked, forgetting that his guardian told him that he would be gone for awhile.

"Master Snape is out. Master Snape said you must eat," Miiki said with too much energy for Harry's current mood. He vaguely wondered how the house elves were able to stay so energetic when living with Severus for so long. Harry was about to refuse the food when the smell overcame his senses.

"Fine, give me the food," Harry said, taking the tray, thanking Miiki before she popped away. He felt as if he hadn't eaten in forever, and the food was better than usual. Now that he thought of it, he couldn't actually remember when the last time he ate was. In fact, he didn't really remember much of the past week. Harry was brought out of his musings by Anzee moving toward him.

"_Are you feeling better, Harry?_" he asked.

"_Er . . . I guess so. What happened?_"

"_Do you not remember?_"

"_Remember what?_" Harry asked, starting to get nervous. What had happened that he couldn't remember?

"_You were very ill for over a week_."

"_What? Really? Is that why I can't remember anything?_"

"_I don't know. Probably,_" Anzee answered. "_You don't remember anything_?"

"_Not really. I must have really been sick_."

"_Very,_" Anzee agreed, eying the bits of beef that had fallen out of Harry's sandwich. He motioned for the snake to go ahead it eat them.

"_So, did I do anything stupid?_" Harry asked, not knowing if he wanted to know the answer.

"_Very. You were very rude most of the time. Other times, you whined a lot, which was rather annoying,_" he said, and Harry felt that if Anzee was human, he'd be a lot like Severus.

"_I hope Severus isn't mad. I don't even remember!_"

"_I don't believe he is. When he wasn't annoyed or worried, he seemed amused._"

"_Amused? Great_," Harry complained. "_I'll never let it down!_" Harry was about to take another bite of his sandwich when there was a tapping at the mostly closed window. Reluctantly, he got up and opened it up the rest of the way, letting the odd bird and a warm breeze into the room. Harry took the letter, and the large bird flew away immediately. He briefly wondered who it was from before he remembered Sirius. Sitting quickly on his bed, he opened the letter.

_Harry,_

_I hope you're doing well. I heard that you have been very sick from Remus, who probably heard it from Snape. Has Snape been treating you okay? If not, tell me, and I'll be there as soon as I can to curse him into oblivion. _

_Great_, Harry thought. _Does _everyone_ know I was sick?_

_I'm doing very good. I can't tell you were I am right now, because the ministry is still out looking for me, of course. Other than that, it's like being on vacation, only mostly as a dog. It's amazing how much food you can get off of people as a very cute, lovable dog._

_Tell me how your summer has been so far. As I said before, if Snape's been treating you bad . . . Anyway, don't send it using Hedwig. She's far too noticeable. Which reminds me, do you like the bird? It isn't native where I am, so I figured it was safe using her this time._

_See you soon,_

_S.B. (Snuffles)_

_PS. I thought a code name would be a good idea._

Harry read through the letter several times. _See you soon_? Harry wondered. Was Sirius planning on coming back so soon? With everyone looking for him? Wouldn't that be dangerous? Harry thought about this while he finished his sandwich, then went back to sleep.

_Harry didn't recognize where he was, and where ever it was, he didn't want to be there. He had this odd chilled feeling, like something evil was around. Or like something was going wrong. Looking around for a door, he couldn't see any and felt panicked. He was brought out of panic by someone saying his name._

_"It could be done without Harry Potter, My Lord," said a voice, which Harry swore was Pettigrew's. _

_"Without Harry Potter . . ." a second voice said with a tone that was vaguely familiar. Harry couldn't place it, but by the first voice saying "My Lord", he assumed it was Voldemort._

_"My Lord, it is not out of concern for the brat! He is nothing to me! It is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard, you would be back to power much more quickly! I could be back in as little as two days with a suitable person . . ."_

_"Do you wish to leave me, Wormtail?" Voldemort asked, confirming Harry's suspicions that it was Pettigrew._

_"No, My Lord! It is just that the boy would be so well protected! Especially with Snape . . ."_

_"I could use another wizard, but I will not. Perhaps the task of nursing me has become wearisome for you, Wormtail? But no, I will use Potter's blood. If Snape truly cares for Potter, then what better why of taking care of the traitor? If he is only taking care of the boy to serve me, which I doubt, then it will be even easier than I plan it to be. I can wait. I have waited 13 years, a few more months is nothing. As for the protections, I believe my plan will be effective to get past them. My faithful servant will soon be free . . ."_

_"_I _am a faithful servant. I was the one who found you. I brought you Bertha Jorkins!"_

_"That is true. I would not have expected that stroke of brilliance from you, though . . . you were not aware of her usefulness when you brought her to me."_

_"I – I thought she might be useful, My Lord . . ."_

_"Liar. However, I do not deny that her information was invaluable. Without it, I could never have formed our plan, and for that, you will be rewarded."_

_"Really, thank you My Lord," Wormtail said, sounding more scared than thankful. "What . . ."_

_"You will find out in time, Wormtail."_

_The voices were silent for awhile and Harry thought about what they were talking about. Voldemort wanted him dead. Nothing new there. But what was the plan? Who was this "faithful servant"? Who was Jorkins? Harry was working himself into hysterics again, but was once more brought back by a voice._

_"One more murder . . . my faithful servant at Hogwarts . . . Harry Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail. It is decided. There will be no more argument. But quiet, I think I hear Nagini . . ."_

_Nagini? Who was that? Harry looked around and was relieved when he didn't see any movement. Harry wanted to take a peek at Voldemort and Wormtail, and whoever Nagini was, so he quietly snuck forward, making sure not to make the floor squeak, like he was so used to when sneaking food at the Dursley's. Before he got there, he recognized a voice speak in parsletongue._

_"_Come to me Nagini. Do you have any news for me?_" Harry instantly recognized it as Voldemort._

_"_There is an old Muggle past the door, listening_," another voice hissed back. Harry guessed it was a snake, and assumed that it was Nagini. _So Voldemort has a snake, hmm?_ Harry thought to himself. Feeling braver for some reason, Harry made his way to the corner and looked around. There was Wormtail. No sign of anything that could be Voldemort, but Harry knew he was in the room. Probably in some kind of physical form. The voice, as odd as it was, was definitely solid. There was a chair with it's back to him, so he assume Voldemort was there._

_"Wormtail, Nagini has informed me of some very interesting news. She says there is a Muggle outside, listening to our every word. Invite him in, Wormtail! Where are your manners?" Harry saw Wormtail let the muggle in, and that muggle walked in using a cane._

_"You heard everything, muggle?" Voldemort asked._

_"What are you calling me?"_

_"A muggle. It means you are not a wizard."_

_"Wizard? I don't know what you mean. All I know is I've heard enough to interest the police tonight, I have. You've done murder and you're planning more! And I'll tell you this, too: my wife knows I'm up here, and if I don't come back . . ." Harry thought the muggle very stupid for telling Voldemort what he heard, even if Voldemort already knew the muggle knew._

_"You have no wife. Nobody knows you are here. Do not lie to Lord Voldemort, Muggle, for he knows . . . is always knows . . ."_

_"Is that right? Lord, is it? Well, I don't think much of your manners, My Lord. Turn 'round and face me like a man, why don't you?" The muggle said this, and Harry was filled with dread. Was the man trying to get killed?_

_"But I am not a man, Muggle. I am much, much more than a man. However . . . why not? I will face you . . . Wormtail, come turn my chair around." Wormtail did so, and Harry was slight disappointed that he could still not see Voldemort. Harry changed his mind when the old man dropped his cane and started screaming. Harry could swear he heard "Avada Kedavra", and a green light came from the chair, hitting the man._

Harry woke up screaming himself. He was mostly unaware of Severus sitting on the bed, comforting him. He was too caught up in the dream. The nightmare. Whatever it was. It seemed so real. After about five minutes, Harry finally calmed down.

"Harry?" Severus asked. "What was it?"

"Nightmare."

"About Dursley?" Severus asked, sounding as if he wanted to hex the man right then. Harry shook his head.

"Voldemort," Harry whispered.

"Don't say his name!" hissed Severus. "What happened?"

"Well, I never actually saw Voldemort. He was sitting on a chair, and it's back was to me. But Wormtail was there. They were talking . . . about me. How . . . how Vol . . . he needed to use my blood for something. They also talked about you being a . . . traitor. He killed someone name Jorkins . . . not in the dream, but they were talking about how they got information from her before hand. I don't know what it was. Something that will help with . . . his plan. Then a snake came in. Nagini. She was huge! A lot bigger than Anzee. She told him there was a man outside the room. He . . . he killed him. A green light, like the one that I see . . ." Harry trailed off.

"Harry, if you have _any _dreams whatsoever about the Dark Lord, tell me right away. Do you feel well enough to eat dinner downstairs tonight? You don't have a fever anymore."

"Er . . . yeah. I feel fine."

"Dinner is in an hour, then," Severus said, then left. Harry watched him leave, stunned. _That was weird_, Harry thought, and he got up to take a bath and get ready to eat.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Harry wasn't feeling the happiest right now. It was his birthday, and even Severus seemed to have forgotten about it. Usually, he would have gotten something from Ron and Hermione, and possibly Hagrid, but Severus had barely even acknowledge him! It was a big difference from last summer. Harry couldn't help but feel he did something wrong, so after breakfast, he stayed in his room and straightened it up. It had gotten quite messy over the past month.

It was nearing lunch, and Harry was debating whether he should go downstairs to eat or just have Miiki bring something up. He was about to call Miiki when there was a knock on the door. Harry called for him to come in.

"We are having lunch early today, Harry. Put something decent on and come downstairs. I don't have all day," Severus said, sounding rather bitter. Wondering what was wrong with what he was wearing at the moment, Harry quickly changed, and made his way sullenly downstairs. He was expecting Severus to be in the dining room with food already on the table, but no one was in there.

Wondering what was going on, Harry made his way where he thought Severus might be: the parlor. The doors were closed, which was unusual, so Harry knocked. When he didn't hear anything, Harry slowly slid the door open and peered in.

"Surprise!" everyone yelled, and Harry just stood there, leaning against door, stunned.

"What . . ." Harry started.

"Happy birthday, mate!" Ron said, and everyone followed suit. Harry was still so stunned that Severus had to lead him over to a chair and sat him down. In front of Harry, on the coffee table, sat a pile of wrapped gifts. A _lot_ of them. More than he ever gotten in the past, anyway.

"Are these all mine?" Harry asked, not knowing what else to say.

"Of course, Harry," Fred said.

"Whose else's would they be?" asked George.

"Er . . . thank you," Harry stuttered.

"Don't thank us yet, Harry," said a familiar voice. "You haven't even opened them yet!" Harry turned around quickly.

"Sirius! What are . . . is it safe for you to be here?" Harry asked quickly.

"For now. But don't worry about that. Start opening your presents!"

"Yeah!" agreed the Weasley kids and Hermione.

L

Harry sat back down, exhausted. It was a _very_ good day.

"Did you have a good time, Harry?" Harry nodded.

"Yes, Severus. It was great! I've never had a party before, and I really wasn't expecting it! I was really surprised. I was also surprised that you let everyone here. Especially Sirius."

"As was I," Severus said flatly. "But I felt that you would have like for him to be here."

"I was glad he was. I was also glad you to stayed away from each other. You two looked like you were about to kill each other."

"I was seriously thinking about it." Harry laughed. "Now, you need to get to bed. It's very late. Or rather, very early in the morning. Happy birthday, Harry."

"Thank you Severus," Harry called over his shoulder as he made his way up the stairs.


	11. Triwizard Tournament

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I used a lot of the fourth book in this chapter, and I modified the article slightly from the book.**

**Thanks to: Princess of Rivendell, ****DebsTheSnapeFan****Serpent91****Dumbledore-The-Phoenix****Helkardowen****VickiWeasley****Drakeluvr****leggylover03****Merry Sparrow****GoddessMoonLady****Mike Lee****Morgaine00000016****HecateDeMort****Kahlann****momocolady****happycabbage****Djenneyaknow****ILoveFlitwick****ShiroLight****SailorHecate****hermione1208****RidDles girl****Yana5****charmedsisters****Lady Lily3****, and ****Quillian**** for the reviews. Sorry if I missed anyone. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 11 - Triwizard Tournament**

_Harry,_

_DAD GOT TICKETS! Ireland versus Bulgaria! Mum wrote a letter to Snape asking if it was okay. I thought I'd let you know by Pig, in case he doesn't tell you or something. I hope Snape lets you come, though mum says he probably will. Send your reply with Pig, and if he said yes, we'll be there five o'clock on Sunday._

_Hermione's coming this afternoon. Percy's started work – the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Don't mention anything about Abroad while you're here unless you want the pants bored off you._

_Ron_

Tickets to the World Cup! Harry knew Severus would let him go. He knew how much he enjoyed Quidditch.

Harry looked back and forth between the letter and the small owl that Ron said was named Pig. Where that name came from, he had no idea.

"What is that?" Severus asked from behind him, and Harry turned around to find his guardian looking at the owl fluttering about.

"Pig," Harry answered simply.

"Pig? It looks more like . . . not like a pig."

"It's what his name is, I guess. That's what Ron says, anyway. So, can I go?"

"Go where?" Severus teased.

"The World Cup!" Harry answered. Severus didn't answer immediately, which worried Harry. "What?"

"With your dream, it might not be very safe for you to go," Severus answered sullenly.

"What? There'll be thousands of people there! I won't be attacked or anything!" Harry said, almost yelling. He really wanted to go. Severus seemed to be thinking.

"You can go if you promise to be careful. And stay away from anyone suspicious."

"Okay, okay! I promise I'll be careful!" Harry answered, surprising Severus by giving him a hug. "Thank you!" Severus watched with a smile as Harry wrote a quick note on parchment, grab Pig out of the air, then send the note off. He was worried that something might happen, but brushed the feeling off. There would be enough security at the Cup that nothing would happen.

The next evening, close to five, Severus made his way up to Harry's room.

"Have everything?" Severus asked.

"Yes. I'm only going to be gone a few days, Severus, you don't need to worry."

"Of course I need to worry. You get into enough trouble when you and your friends are together. This will be you, your friends, and the rest of the Weasley's."

"I won't get into any trouble," Harry promised.

"For some reason, I don't believe . . ." Severus paused. "It sounds like someone just flooed in," he said, then left the room, probably to make sure whoever came didn't destroy anything. Harry followed with his bag.

"Hello, Harry!" greeted Mr. Weasley when Harry entered the parlor.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley."

"You have everything?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, don't worry, Severus, we'll take good care of him. Come on Harry."

"Goodbye, Severus," Harry said, before following Ron's dad through the floo.

"Goodbye, Harry."

* * *

"Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness!" yelled Mrs. Weasley when she saw the crew walking back toward the Burrow. Severus wasn't too far behind, with a scowl on his face. Harry watched Mrs. Weasley fuss over everyone then turned to Severus.

"Always being around trouble," Severus said stiffly. "Say goodbye to your friends, we're leaving." Harry didn't answer, just did what Severus told him to. Fifteen minutes later, they were in the parlor. Severus barked a "stay here", then left the room. Harry sat down hard on his usual seat. However he expected Severus to respond to what happened, this wasn't it. Severus can back a few minutes later with two mugs. Harry nearly groaned, thinking it was tea, until it was set in front of him. Hot chocolate. Harry smiled.

"Harry, are you okay?"

"Er . . . yeah," Harry answered, wondering if he should tell him about someone using his wand.

"Tell me what happened," Severus ordered. His voice was soft, though. _Well, that clears up whether I should tell him or not_, Harry thought grimly. Harry told Severus what happened.

"They used your wand."

"Yeah. Do . . . do you think it was under his orders?" Harry asked. "For them to attack?"

"No, I don't think it was. Whoever it was, they were probably just having some _fun_. The attack was pointless."

"Fun? How could that be considered fun?" Harry asked.

"To them, it would be."

"Did you have _fun_ like that when you were a Death Eater?" Harry sneered, not knowing if he wanted to know the answer. He couldn't see Severus doing something like that.

"No, thank Merlin. I was a potions brewer. That's mostly all I did."

"Good," Harry answered forcibly, then took a sip of this hot chocolate.

"How do you always get into these things?"

"It's not my fault," whined Harry. "Trouble just finds me. I can't help it."

"I'm tempted to just not let you do anything, and see if that help."

"No!" Harry answered, knowing Severus was just joking around. "So you don't think this has anything to do with the dream? I mean, if Voldemort . . ." Harry trailed off, not really knowing where he was going with that.

"I don't know, Harry. Just . . . be careful. Don't leave the wards without me."

"Okay," Harry answered, more than happy to comply. The last thing he wanted was to be attacked by Death Eaters.

"How about breakfast?" Severus asked, changing the mood between the two immediately.

"Yes. I'm hungry!" Harry answered, wanting to forget the events of the previous day.

* * *

"Why can't I take the Express?" Harry asked again, annoyed. Instead, he had to go with Severus a week early to Hogwarts. The only company he'd have for the next week was teachers, ghosts, and a very annoying poltergeist.

"You know why, Harry," Severus answered, equally annoyed.

"Yeah, but what am I going to do? There's going to be no one there?"

"Harry," Severus said flatly. "There will be more people there than there are here."

"Yeah, all professors. And everyone will be busy!"

Actually, the week went by quickly enough. Harry was able to overhear some bits of conversation about the Tournament coming up, which Harry wondered why they bothered having it. It sounded dangerous. In fact, the first two months passed fairly quickly, and soon the visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were arriving. After the Welcoming Feast, Harry went down to Severus' chambers to talk.

"Who do you think the Hogwarts champion will be?" Harry asked, thinking about his encounter will the Headmaster from Durmstrang.

"I do not know. Why?"

"I don't know. I don't get why people would want to be in the tournament in the first place."

"Not everyone is against 'eternal glory' as you are Harry."

"Yeah, well being famous isn't all it's thought to be. The way Karkaroff and the Durmstrang students just stared at me when the figured out who I was . . . it's unnerving. I'm fine with the interschool relationships, but why something so dangerous?" Harry answered, completely baffled. "And . . ."

"Karkaroff?" Severus asked. "What happened?"

"Nothing really," Harry answered, not understanding why Severus was asking. "Him and his students were walking out of the Great Hall as we were. I let them go through, but then he saw me and just stared as if he could believe his eyes. He probably would have stayed there awhile if Professor Moody didn't come."

"Stay away from Karkaroff, Harry," Severus warned.

"Do you know . . ." Harry trailed off. "You knew him as a Death Eater," Harry accused. "That's why Professor Moody was acting like that."

"Yes," said Severus shortly. "He was cleared, but whether he is involved in the Dark Lord's current plan, I do not know."

"I should go, it's getting late. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Of course," answered Severus. "How about breakfast here?"

"Okay."

* * *

"_Harry Potter!_" called Dumbledore, and Harry froze. _How did my name get in the Goblet?_ he wondered. The entire hall was quiet. He looked up at Severus, who was glaring at him, and he swallowed hard.

"I didn't put my name in! Honestly!" he told Ron and Hermione. He told them many times how he _didn't_ want to be in the Tournament.

"We know Harry," answered Ron.

"Now, go!" Hermione said, just as Dumbledore called him again.

"Harry Potter! Harry, up here, if you please!" Harry slowly got up, aware of everyone staring at him. Down in the room, he heard many people come down after him.

"Harry, did you put your name in the Goblet?" Dumbledore asked sadly.

"No! I swear!" he said, then turned to his guardian. "I swear!" Severus nodded.

"Albus, if I may say, Harry has said many times over the past two months that he wouldn't want to be in the Tournament, even if he was of age."

"Liar!" Karkaroff said. "You are probably just saying that to get everyone believing that, so they would feel sympathy." Karkaroff was glaring at Snape.

"I don't want to be in the Tournament," Harry said quietly.

"I'm afraid there is no backing out," said Bagman. "Once a name has come out of the Goblet, they are bound by a magical contract." Harry slumped down. He would have sat down on the floor, but everyone was watching him, so he stayed standing. All he could think was that this was _not_ going to be a good school year. Just then, everyone started to argue, back to ignoring him. Only Severus was watching him closely, but Harry wasn't paying attention. He just wanted out. He was brought out of his musings by Moody walking in.

"Don't you?" Moody asked Karkaroff. "It's very simple. Someone put Potter's name in that goblet, knowing he'd have to compete if it came out."

"Evidently, someone 'oo wished to give "ogwarts two bites at ze apple!" said Madame Maxime.

"I quite agree. I shall be lodging complaints ith the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards."

"If anyone's got reason to complain, it's Potter," growled Moody, "but . . . funny thing . . .I don't hear _him_ saying a word . . ."

"I don't want to compete!" Harry interrupted.

"Why should 'e complain? 'E 'as ze chance to compete, 'asn't 'e? A thousand Galleons in prize money -- zis is a chance many would die for," Fleur said, while everyone ignored Harry.

"Maybe someone's hoping Potter _is_ going to die for it," said Moody. "It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to kill him," grumbled Moody, and Harry felt himself fill with more dread than before. Especially since Harry knew Voldemort was attempting to do something to him.

"Moody, old man . . . what a thing to say!" said Bagman, who was looking nervous.

"It is not," said Severus. "Two out of his three years here, someone _had_ tried to kill the boy. Why not this year? Especially with his ability to attract trouble," he continued, and both Karkoroff and Moody looked at him with suspicion.

"Perhaps you had something to do with this, Snape?" asked Moody.

"Why would I do that? I have no wish for him to compete."

"And why would that matter for you?" Karkaroff asked, now glaring at Severus. Severus turned slowly to look at the man.

"Because I don't wish my _son_ to be in any more danger than he already gets himself into," Severus answered, and Harry didn't know whether to be happy that Severus just called him his son or angry because everyone was talking as if he wasn't there. Then Harry remembered that Karkaroff was a Death Eater at one point, and may even be now, and he realized that it could be very dangerous for Severus to announce it like that.

Of course, after Severus said that, they all _did _remember he was in the room, and they all turned to look at him. All except Moody, who was still looking at Severus suspiciously.

"Plan on handing him over to your Lord, Snape?" he asked with a sneer. Harry was about to protest when Dumbledore interrupted.

"Alastor!" the old man warned, and Moody didn't continue. "How this happened, we can only speculate. It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it."

"Ah, but Dumbly-dorr . . ."

"My dear Madame Maxime, if you have an alternative, I would be delighted to hear it." When the french women did not answer, Dumbledore turned to Crouch. "Now, let's hear those instruction," he told the man, and Crouch seemed to come out of a deep reverie. Harry listened to what the task was going to be, but after that, he just stood there, deep in his own thoughts, until he felt Severus put a hand on his shoulder.

"Harry?" Severus asked. Harry didn't answer, just turned around and looked at his father. Harry gave an internal smile when he realized he called Severus father in his head. "We should speak with the Headmaster." Harry nodded and followed Severus out of the room to Dumbledore's office.

"Ah, I was hoping you two would stop by. This is rather unfortunate."

"Rather," said Severus dryly. "I have reason to believe that the Dark Lord is behind it."

"And why would that be, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, any twinkle that could have been in his eyes gone.

"Harry had a dream, which seemed more of a vision, of the Dark Lord with Wormtail, plotting for something to happened this year."

"I see," said Dumbledore sadly. "We'll have to be extra careful. Now, I believe that Gryffindor is waiting to celebrate with their champion, and I do have much to finish. Please tell me if you have anymore of these dreams, Harry," Dumbledore said with a pointed look.

* * *

The morning after the first task, Harry made his way down to Severus' quarters. He was still amazed that he tied for first place . . . but the fact that the other three champions didn't seemed surprised that they had to get past a dragon – dragons! – confused him. He wondered how they could have known, and why _he_ didn't. Perhaps someone really did want him dead.

_Well, that was a stupid comment_, Harry thought grimly. _Of course someone wants me dead. Voldemort and all his Death Eaters_. In Severus' quarters, he was surprised that Severus was already at the table, reading the Daily Prophet.

"Hi," Harry said.

"Congratulations, Harry," Severus answered.

"Thanks. When I found out I had to get past a dragon, I thought for sure I was done for. But the others didn't seem surprised about it. Do you think they could have known?"

"I'm not sure. But since you didn't know about it, and tied for first place, does it matter?"

"Well, it does if someone is trying to kill me!" Harry said. Severus ignored Harry and took the egg, the clue, that Harry brought with him. "All it does is scream when I open it. Like the air was killing it or something," Harry said, sitting down across from Severus. "Wait . . ." he said. "Maybe it's not supposed to be opened in the air. Then where . . ."

Harry thought. His first idea was fire . . . their first task was dragons after all, and it would make sense that figuring out the clue would have something to do with fire, but he dismissed that. He wouldn't be able to open it in fire without burning himself. That only left water.

"What?" Severus asked, clearly pleased that Harry was taking time to think about it.

"Maybe I have to open it under the water."

"Try it after breakfast. I'll allow you to use my bath," Severus answered, like he was doing some big favor for the boy.

"Thanks," Harry said, ignoring Severus' comment.

"_Come seek us where our voices sound,_

_We cannot sing above the ground,_

_And while you're searching, ponder this:_

_We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_

_And hour long you'll have to look,_

_And to recover what we took,_

_But past an hour – the prospect's black,_

_Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."_

"Come seek us where our voices sound . . . well, under water, obviously. Above water, all it sounds like is a scream," Harry told Severus. "But . . ." Going under water wasn't something that Harry was looking forward to.

"What?"

"I can't swim," Harry mumbled.

"You can't . . . well, we'll have to work on that, hmm?" Severus said, like not knowing how to swim was something too hard to comprehend.

"Wait, it says an hour. Even if I could swim, I can't hold my breath for an hour!"

"Harry, are you a wizard or what?" Severus asked, and Harry got a feeling of deja vu.

"Oh, yeah. So, what do I do?"

"Figure it out, Harry," was all Severus said.

* * *

Harry saw what he was to retrieve: ahead of him, floating in the water, were four people: Ron, Hermione, Cho, and Fleur's little sister. He swam as quick as he could toward the four, which was pretty quickly, thanks to the gillyweed.

Harry looked around, and didn't see any of the other champions, then looked between Ron and Hermione. He figured Fleur would get her sister, and Cedric would get Cho. That left Krum to get Hermione, something Harry wasn't too pleased about, and Harry to get Ron. Knowing his time was running out, Harry found a jagged rock and used it to cut Ron free.

He was about to swim off, when he looked at the others. He couldn't see any of the champions yet, and was thinking about getting them, too, but he knew what Severus would say: pointless heroics. That on his mind, Harry swam as fast as he could to the surface.

There was a burst of cheers when Harry and Ron surfaced. He checked the time and saw that he had fifteen minutes before the gillyweed wore off. At the dock, Harry refused to get out of the water just yet, explaining that he wouldn't be able to breathe quite yet.

"First this time," Severus said, standing on the edge of the dock.

"Yeah. There was no one there when I got there," Harry answered, wondering what was taking the other champions so long. When it was time, Harry got out of the water, and was immediately, confronted by Moody.

"Good job, Potter," Moody grunted, giving him a look that Harry couldn't decipher. The look, and Moody, was gone before Harry could reply, and everyone started cheering again. He turned around and saw that Cedric had surfaced.

Four hours later, after the celebrations, Harry was once again was in Severus' chambers, enjoying a large dinner prepared by Dobby.

"I don't like the way Moody was looking at me after the task," Harry said.

"Moody's paranoid."

"I know, it's just . . . something doesn't seem right. Do you think that he could have something to do with . . ."

"No. Moody hates dark wizards."

"What if it's not Moody, though? I mean, Moody _did_ claim to be attacked the night before school started." Harry said. "And he used the Unforgivables. I know he had permission, but _still_." Harry just wanted Severus to see his point. When the man did not answer, Harry knew he had put the suspicion in him, so he moved on to the next topic that had been bugging him for awhile. He didn't know how to start, so he decided blurting it out was the best choice.

"Can I call you dad?" he asked, making it seem like it wasn't all that important to him.

"What?" Severus answered, clearly confused.

"Can I call you dad? I mean, you did adopt me a year ago. And you said yourself you think of me as a son. . ." Harry trailed off, confused at why Severus reacted the way he did. Embarrassed, Harry looked down at his plate.

"If you want to call me dad, of course you can, Harry. I was just surprised by you asking that."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Of course," Severus answered, and Harry saw that he was smiling. Harry had a very similar smile on his face.

* * *

_**Harry Potter, "Disturbed and Dangerous"**_

_The boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is unstable and possibly dangerous. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about Harry Potter's strange behavior, which casts doubt upon him suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Triwizard Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts School._

_Potter, who was adopted by Professor Severus Snape last year, regularly collapses at school, and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead. It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that Potter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence that the scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion._

_The _Daily Prophet_, however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public._

_"Potter can speak Parseltongue," reveals Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth year. "A lot of people thought that he was behind the attacks on the school a few years back after he lost his temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy. He is also friends with werewolves and giants."_

_Parseltongue, the ability to speak with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Could it be that Potter wishes to take You-Know-Who's place? Could his adopted father, who had charges of being a Death Eater, You-Know-Who's followers, at the end of the first war, be preparing him in the Dark Arts? The charges against Snape were not followed through after a testimony from Dumbledore, claiming that Snape was spying for him._

_Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether a boy such as this should be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that Potter might resort to the Dark Arts in his desperation to win the tournament, the third task of which takes place this evening._

"Gone off me a bit, hasn't she?" Harry said lightly, folding up the paper. He stole a glance at his father, who apparently just read the article, too. Hermione went off to the library for her usual research on something that Harry and Ron didn't follow.

"Stop being noble," said Harry irritably. "Just take it, then we can get out of here."

"You saved me. You would have been here first if it wasn't for that."

"Fine," Harry said, just wanting to get out of the maze. "We'll take it together." Cedric agreed, and both took the cup.

In the graveyard, Harry felt sick. Something wasn't right.

"Someone's coming," Harry said suddenly. He watched as someone in a dark hood, carrying a bundle of something appearing to be a baby, came closer. Dread filled Harry, and he was about to tell Cedric to run, when a familiar voice said "_Kill the spare_." The familiar green light exploded from the man's wand, and Cedric fell dead. Harry was about to run to him when his scar exploded with pain.

Soon, Voldemort was resurrected.

"How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it?" he whispered. "And how many will be foolish to stay away?" He turned to Harry. "Ah yes, the adopted son of my once loyal servant. Or so I thought. He will know the pain you will suffer, and he will feel pain worse than what is to come for you. He will regret ever going against me," hissed Voldemort, and Harry grimaced.

Then wizards appeared, all hooded and masked.

"Welcome, Death Eaters. Thirteen years since last we met. Yet you answer my call as though it were yesterday . . . We are still united under the Dark Mark, then! But where are the others, I ask you? Those who have sworn eternal loyalty?" No one answered. He continued, but Harry barely listened to the madman. Severus . . . his father . . . had told him of the evilness of Voldemort, and Voldemort did not say anything that Harry did not expect. Until he started talking about Crouch Jr.

"Yes, he served me well. Played the part of Moody well. He will be rewarded." After that, nothing interested Harry more than trying to ignore the pain.

After what seemed like forever, Harry escaped, Cedric's body in tow. Harry felt himself slam into the ground. Harry didn't move. He heard the crowd cheering, but he refused to move. He refused to let go of the cup and Cedric. He tried to ground himself, to control the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Harry! Harry!" people called his name when they realized he wasn't moving. He felt hands pull him off Cedric, his father. Unable to control himself any longer, Harry started crying.

"He's back," he whispered as his father hugged him, asking him what was wrong. "He's back. Voldemort's back!"

"He's dead!" Harry heard a voice call. "Cedric Diggory is dead!" Gasps went around. Harry felt Dumbledore come up behind him, heard his dad talking to the man, but he couldn't understand what they were saying.

"He wanted me to bring him back," Harry muttered. It was important that people knew this. Harry didn't know why, but he just wanted to get it out. "He wanted me to bring him back to his parents . . ." He thought no one heard him until Severus whispered back to him.

"Calm down, Harry."

"Bring Mr. Potter to the Hospital Wing," ordered Dumbledore. "No! He is in no state to explain anything. He is in shock!" Harry heard Dumbledore explain as Severus lead him away. Harry didn't know what to do, so he continued talking.

"Cup was a portkey. Took me a Cedric there . . . we took the cup at the same time . . . Wormtail . . . killed Cedric . . . Voldemort came back . . . Potion . . . he got his body back. Death Eaters came . . . threatened you . . . dueled . . ."

"You duel with the Dark Lord, Harry?"

"Wands connected. Mum and dad, they came out of his wand. Wait . . . Moody . . . not Moody. Voldemort said he was Crouch Jr!" Harry said as they were entering the Infirmary. "You have to tell Dumbledore!"

"The headmaster's on his way, Harry. We'll take care of it." Severus stayed with Harry until Poppy finished fussing over him and gave him a dreamless sleep potion, then he went to go find Albus to explain the situation so they could get Crouch Jr. and find the real Moody.


	12. The Aftermath

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**A/N: Short chapter. Sorry, but if it makes you feel any better, I have up until and through chapter 22 outlined, and there will be a LOT more after that. Here is where everything starts to change from the basic cannon line, though. Hope you'll enjoy it!**

**Thanks to: ****rayama****bandgeekforlife****Shadow Lighthawk****hermione1208****cowTXgirl****Yana5****VickiWeasley****charmedsisters****Helkardowen****spiritualwitch****, Princess of Rivendell, ****uknowho****luvbooks****Harrysmate****Selene Malfoy Lupin****Tazgirl18992****zafaran****Cartergal131****GoddessMoonLady****Beth5572****hope99****HecateDeMort****Dumbledore-The-Phoenix****JuMiKu****SailorHecate****Lady Lily3****Morgaine00000016****momocolady****Merry Sparrow****, and ****Serpent91**** for the reviews. Sorry if I missed anyone. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 12 - The Aftermath**

Severus watched Harry sleeping, ambivalent. He wasn't happy about what Harry had witnessed. What father would be? Severus knew what happened at Death Eater meetings. Most of them, in fact, were rather boring. Very informative, but boring all the same. Not that Severus ever complained; the meetings that weren't boring were usually torture sessions of some sort.

He was happy that Harry made it through the night without breaking, though. He witnessed the death of a classmate, unwillingly aided in the rise of the Dark Lord, was tortured (he assumed), and was able to keep his head clear enough to escape. If anything, Severus was proud of Harry.

There was more to come, though. Fudge refused to admit that the Dark Lord was back, the Daily Prophet, or, in actuality, Rita Skeeter, had gone one step further with discrediting Harry: bringing Severus' past into the equation. All year, she had been writing terrible things about the boy, but this _couldn't_ be just for entertaining the feeble minded; there had to be something more to it.

That was what Severus told himself. Of course, he was suspicious of everything, probably as much as Moody, just not as obvious about it. He _couldn't_ be obvious about it while being a spy, it would be too dangerous, and he saw no point in changing his ways. He _was_ still alive, after all.

The problem was, the last article did give plenty of evidence for those who didn't know the boy that would support the Dark Lord. For those who did know him, they knew that there was no possible way for Harry to be dark. In fact, he was pretty close to being as light as a person could be. The only people he ever claimed to hate were those who killed, like Voldemort, and those who betrayed, like Wormtail, and Severus wasn't entirely sure that the boy's heart was entirely in the feeling. He didn't even hate the muggles that he had the terrible luck to be related to. Disliked them, of course, but somehow didn't hate them.

That was something about the child that Severus envied with no doubt. His entire life, Severus had been filled with hatred of some sort. That was why the Dark Lord's ways appealed to him at first. It was a way to relieve that hatred, and there were people to relieve it with. It got old fast, though, and in a very sick way. It was the children that turned Severus back. Children who were too young to know what was going on, too young to make their own decisions.

Harry was one of those children. Not knowing any better, Severus gave the Dark Lord what he heard of the prophecy. When he learned that he was planning on killing a child, a newborn at that, Severus couldn't handle it anymore, he ran to Albus Dumbledore and told the man everything he knew and everything he had done, along with names of fellow Death Eaters.

Severus had been expecting to go straight to Azkaban after confessing. He had killed, after all, but Albus had a different idea. Severus went back to the Dark Lord, telling him that he finally convinced the "old fool" to give him a job at Hogwarts. It wasn't the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, but Slughorn had just retired and Hogwarts was in need of a potions master and teacher.

Which was how Severus' life as a spy began. He was, because of recent happenings, weary of teaching students. That, and he knew that most children were terrible at potions, and the thought of teaching those kids potions was horrifying. At least students like DADA, when there was a decent teacher.

But teaching satisfied Albus, and Severus, because he was close enough to the old man for him to keep an eye on Severus and it made Severus feel at least somewhat safe. And the Dark Lord was pleased to have a spy in Hogwarts. Being a spy meant less meetings to attend, also, which was a plus for Severus. While he was still able to collect enough information for the Order, he didn't have to attend torture sessions and had to spend less time with the madman.

He was required to come up with more potions, though, because the Dark Lord assumed that Severus had more time to do so. Thankfully, he was given more lee way for the time frame each potion was needed, which allowed time for Severus to find an antidote. As much as Severus enjoyed inventing and experimenting, his enthusiasm was greatly dampened when he thought of what the potions would be used for.

Severus took another glance at Harry, and laughed inwardly when he thought that Harry was one of those students who didn't appreciate the finer points of potion making. He was hoping that someday he would, but he doubted it. Harry's strong suit was defense and flying. And with the amount of flying Harry did during the summer, he was better than even most of the seventh years.

Thinking of summer, Severus thought about the summer coming up. With O.W.L.'s next year, he had been thinking that it might be good to put Harry on a loose study schedule during the summer. Just so he had less to worry about during the school year, and the more Severus thought about it, the more he liked the idea. Especially now. Even Albus agreed next term was going to be difficult if the Ministry refused to announce the Dark Lord's return.

Severus was brought out of his thoughts by Harry slowly waking up. He watched as the boy reacted to realizing he was once again in the hospital wing and reached to the side table to feel for his glasses. Saving the child some time, Severus handed them to him. Harry didn't say anything, just looked at his father sadly, so Severus decided to speak up first.

"How do you feel?"

"Better," Harry answered quietly. "What's going to happen?"

"Fudge is refusing to announce the second rise of the Dark Lord, so, against my better judgement, the Headmaster wants you to go with him to attempt to convince him."

"Will you be there?" Harry asked, pleading.

"No. I already talked to the idiot, and he won't even acknowledge the Dark Mark. Are you well enough to talk to the headmaster about what happened?"

"I guess. I don't really want to talk about it at all," Harry answered, looking down at his hands. "It's . . . isn't there anything I could do so I won't have to talk about it?"

"Harry, it won't do any good to suppress it, but I suppose you could use the pensieve. _We_ will be talking about it later, though. I will go find the headmaster so you can . . ."

"No, he will not leave until I dismiss him," Poppy said, walking into the infirmary, and Severus glared at her.

"I was planning on bringing the Albus here, Madame Pomfrey," he said flatly. "It is important that he knows exactly what happened in order to take the correct action."

"Of course," she huffed, obviously not happy with the soon-to-be intrusion in her wing, but complied anyway. Severus left, and Harry felt funny in the pit of his stomach. He really did not want to even think about what happened. He knew Severus was right, but he really wanted to avoid it.

* * *

The meeting with Dumbledore didn't go as bad as Harry thought it would. Dumbledore came in with the pensieve, Harry put in his memories of the events, Dumbledore watched them with Harry's father, and then Dumbledore explained a little bit about what happened. Like why their wands connected. Still, Harry was relieved when Dumbledore left.

Now, Harry was sitting on the edge of the bed with his triwizard winning in his lap, wondering what he was going to do with it. He did know that he didn't want it, but he didn't seem able to give it away. The Diggory's wouldn't take it; they came by a few minutes earlier to thank him for bringing back their son's body. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley refused to take it. Harry was seriously thinking about just throwing it away. He knew he didn't deserve the winnings. It was Cedric who deserved it.

It was then that the twins came it and Harry got an idea.

"Hi," Harry said.

"Hi, Harry," they answered together.

"So, how's business going?" Harry asked.

"Decent enough, we suppose," said Fred.

"But we are having a little problem financially."

"Nothing that can't be worked around for now."

"Er . . . you can have my triwizard winnings," Harry said quickly.

"What?" the twins asked together.

"Well, I don't want it, so you can have it . . ." After a few minutes, Harry was able to convince them to take it. It wasn't really that hard. Harry had a feeling they weren't going to refuse the money, anyway.

That night, Pomfrey finally let him out of the infirmary, with the promise that he will stay the night in Severus' quarter. Harry quickly agreed, then nearly ran down to the dungeons looking for his dad.

* * *

_"It is not as hard as you make it seem," Harry said, not intending to say the words. "Once the old fool is out of Hogwarts, it will be easy to control the rest."_

_"Of course, my Lord," said Barty, bowing. Lucius Malfoy came up behind him._

_"My Lord, do you plan to do this soon?"_

_"Not yet, my faithful servant. I am still too weak. But I have already set plans in motion. The plan will start in September."_

_"Hogwarts will be your's, Master," said Crouch. "What will you plan on doing with it?" Harry let out a high pitched, evil laugh._

_"Something you all will be pleased with, I'm sure. Students will be taught the way I wish them to be taught. . ."_

Harry woke up; someone was gently shaking him.

"Harry, what is it?" Severus asked.

"Dad, I . . . I don't know, really," Harry answered, trying to waken himself. "I was . . . I think I was him. I was inside his mind!"

"What are you talking about?" Severus asked, confused.

"Voldemort! I was inside his head! Crouch Jr. was there, as was Malfoy! They were talking about taking over Hogwarts or something . . ."

"What else did they say?" Severus asked, no longer confused. Now, he was curious and worried.

"Nothing, really. I woke up before anything else was said," Harry answered, slowly falling back to sleep.

"I'll tell Albus. You go back to sleep," Severus said, combing his fingers through his son's hair. He knew he wouldn't get anything else from the child at this time, and he thought there might be a few more details that Harry left out. So, instead of going to the Headmaster immediately, Severus continued rubbing Harry's head until he was in a deep, restful sleep.


	13. Abandon

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**A/N: Short chapter. Sorry, but if it makes you feel any better, I have up until and through chapter 22 outlined, and there will be a LOT more after that. Here is where everything starts to change from the basic cannon line, though. Hope you'll enjoy it!**

**Thanks to: ****Helkardowen****grey-shadow-horse****, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, ****Cartergal131****Dredaline Frost****GoddessMoonLady****Shadowface****, Alexis8907, ****amanda burke****Ezmerelda****HecateDeMort****Catti666****1derland pixie****Selene Malfoy Lupin****Lady Lily3****bandgeekforlife****uknowho****Beth5572****momocolady****Heksie****Serpent91****SailorHecate****Merry Sparrow****JuMiKu****leggylover03****, and ****ILoveFlitwick**** for the reviews. Sorry if I missed anyone. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 13 - Abandon**

"Headmaster Dumbledore, what may I do for you?" Fudge asked from behind his desk, sorting through papers.

"I wish to speak with you about recent events," Dumbledore said seriously.

"I believe we already have, Dumbledore, and I still won't believe you. You put way too much trust into that boy, and you allow that Death Eater to adopt him! You are corrupting the hero!"

"Severus is not a Death Eater, he was a spy for me . . ."

"Is he continuing 'spying', now that you say You Know You is back?"

"So you admit that he is back," Dumbledore stated.

"Of course not, because he _isn't_. How do you know that Potter didn't kill the kid himself? Just to win? He is an attention seeking brat."

"He is not. I see there is not talking with you, Cornelius, so I will be going. Good day," Dumbledore said, showing himself out of the office.

**The Boy Who Lived, Insane**

_Minister Fudge has announced that Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, is mad, and says that Headmaster Dumbledore refuses to allow medical attention for the boy. _

Severus stopped reading after that. It was pointless to read on, knowing that nothing in there would be the truth, and for once in his life, Severus opted for ignorance.

Earlier that morning, Severus was able to get all the details of Harry's vision. The way the vision itself happened greatly worried him. In the last one, Harry was just a bystander, watching without being seen, but this time, Harry was in the Dark Lord's head. If this continued to happen, it would be possible for the Dark Lord to realize what was happening and hurt Harry through the connection. If Harry is able to get into the Dark Lord's mind, the Dark Lord would be able to get into his.

Which meant that Severus had to teach Harry occlumency. It was a topic that Severus never thought he would have to teach, so he really had no idea how to teach it. _I'll stop at a bookstore after meeting with Albus_, Severus thought. Not wanting to bother with the rest of the Prophet, he threw it down.

"Harry!" he called from the outside of the boy's door.

"Yes?" he heard the muffled answer.

"I am going to speak with the headmaster and then to Hogsmede. I should be back by lunch, and if not, find go to the Great Hall. Make _sure_ you eat something," Severus said. Harry's eating habits annoyed Severus with no doubt. If Severus wasn't there to remind him to eat, or if Severus would forget to tell the house elves to force Harry to the kitchen, he simply would forget to eat.

"Okay," Harry answered after a pause, and Severus figured he was doing something with Anzee. Earlier in the school year, Severus bought Harry a set of games in order for him to work on his logic, and it wasn't long before the boy set them to two players and did them with Anzee. Unfortunately, Anzee's logic was often better than Harry's, which surprised him. The snake was smart, Severus knew that, but he didn't realize he was _that_ smart.

"_How did you figure that out?_" Harry asked Anzee, after he won another round, and Harry could have sworn he rolled his eyes.

"_I started with the ones I knew were not correct, then I went on from there. Honestly, you call yourself a human._"

"_I _am_ a human, Anzee._"

"_Really? Because I'm beginning to think you are a field mouse with how much logic you have._"

"_Hey!_" Harry said, and Anzee let out a hiss that translated as a laugh.

"_Now, you promised to tell me about this Voldemort_," Anzee said, serious again. "_How could the one who died be back again? He _is_ the one who killed your parents, correct?_"

"_Yes,_" Harry answered, not wanting to talk about it, but knew that Anzee would not let up if he didn't. "_And, he wasn't really _dead_, just kind of in a spirit form. He has a body now_," he said with a small shiver. "_And _that_ I don't want to talk about._"

"_So, he still wants you dead?_"

"_Well, yeah. He . . . already tried to kill me several times before, you know that, and he tried this time . . ._" Harry trailed off.

"_Sorry, I'll stop asking questions,_" Anzee answered, sensing how uncomfortable Harry was, and Harry answered by shaking his head. "_But dad is going to talk to the old man about your dream? Is it really that important?_"

"_He called it a vision, actually. And I think it really happened. I know my other one were real . . ._"

"_The one where that rat was talking to a weird looking Voldemort? I should have eaten him when I first saw him._"

"_Yeah. This one was different; I wasn't actually watching it. I _was_ Voldemort? And if you ate him, there would be no proof to prove Sirius innocent._"

"_Sounds like a dream to me, but I guess dad would know, right?_"

"_Yeah_." Ever since Harry started calling Severus 'Dad', Anzee did too. Dumbledore teased the potions master about it when Harry told them. Anzee never quite got the humor in it.

Severus did arrive back in time for lunch, just in time to see a flock of owls fly toward the dungeons. _Oh, no. What's going on now_? he wondered. As he followed the birds at a slow pace, he thought back on the discussion with Albus. The old man suggested that Harry take the final two weeks off from school, in order to concentrate on Occlumency. Severus didn't think the boy needed it, that he needed to stay with his friends at this time, but the old man insisted, and Severus finally gave in.

Severus made a mental note to contact the Jones and Lakes families for the kids to get together. The first summer Harry stayed at Prince Manor, the boy was over at one of their houses several times a week. Last summer they didn't get together so much because two of them helped their dad at some business, and the other one went to a summer school.

The Jones and Lakes families were all muggle, which Severus thought was good for Harry because they didn't know Harry for his fame. The few times Severus asked Harry what he did with his muggle friends, he usually answered "games" or "movies" or "skating".

When he got back to his rooms, Harry was sitting in front of a pile of letters, and a few howlers which were about to go off, staring blankly at the pile, one of the letters in his hand. Almost all at once, the howlers went off, none of them understandable in the noise. From all the noise coming from the few howlers, Severus was grateful none of them were understandable.

Finally, they all burst into flames, one at a time, and Severus went and sat down next to Harry.

"The headmaster suggested that you take the last two weeks off of school, Harry," Severus started, wondering what to say about the letters. "Are you alright?"

"The few I picked up say that I belong in St. Mungo's. Was . . . was there something in the Prophet today?" Harry asked, and Severus nodded.

"Yes, but is appeared to just be another of Skeeter's works. I didn't realize reactions would be this large. I will talk to the Headmaster to have your mail redirected and checked by the house elves."

"O-okay. Why does he want me to take off school? And were would I go?"

"Well, I still have to be here to teach, so I was thinking of contacting your muggle friends. Their school has ended already, I believe?"

"Yeah, it would have finished a week ago, but . . ."

"If not, you'll probably stay here, just not attend classes. I don't believe Albus thought this through when he suggested it. For what you will miss, we will work on during the summer. I planned on tutoring you some anyway . . ."

"What? But, it will be summer!"

"And O.W.L.'s are next school year, and you need to be ready. Which reminds me, I will be teaching you occlumency after I finish teaching here, so read these before then," Severus said, taking the few books out of a bag and handing them to his son.

"What's occlumency?"

"It's . . ." Severus started, trying to think of a way to describe it. "It's the art of protecting your mind. It should help keep your mind out of the Dark Lord's and his out of your's."

"Wait . . . he can get into mine?"

"He might be able to, which is why these lessons will be important. I will be back shortly, once again so I can tell the headmaster about the letters. Just . . . throw them out. I highly doubt there will be anything useful in any of them." Severus left, and Harry looked at the three books that his dad handed him.

"_What is it?_" Anzee asked.

"_Dad wants me to learn how to protect my mind_," Harry answered, opening the front cover of one of the books, Protect Your Mind. _Original title_, Harry thought.

"_Well, that's a good thing, right? But I meant about all that noise. It woke me up_."

"_All you do is sleep, Anzee, so it doesn't really matter._"

"_Doesn't matter! Of course it matters! Can't be tired, you know_."

"_What can't you be tired for? You don't do anything!_" Anzee let out a low, irritated hiss. "_The noise was howlers people sent me. They are mad at me for some article Skeeter wrote. I'd like to know how she gets her information._"

"_We went over this already_," Anzee said, slithering off, probably to go back to sleep.

"_Oh, shut up_," Harry said, then looked suddenly at the page of the book he just turned to. That picture . . . that creature. It looked familiar. Like . . . he_ knew_ it. Like he met it before.

_The _slantim_ is a dangerous creature. With it's half snake, half human appearance, it looks as evil as it is. The _slantim_ is capable of mental attacks, and often uses the energy of the person it hooks on to for it's own purposes. It is capable of speech, to some degree, and can become invisible to whom it wishes, expect for the latched. _

_It often latches itself onto children, both magical and nonmagical, because of their unused energies, their innocence, and most adults would pass it off as an imaginary friend._

Imaginary friend . . . _that's why he looks so familiar!_ Suddenly Harry because worried. Wanting to know how dangerous the creature could be, he read on.

_When a _slantim_ latches on to a person, they often stay with that person for the person's entire life. Often times, the creature will stay hidden when in the persons presence, unless it is a child. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to rid yourself of one of these creatures, especially if it has been feeding off of you for many years._

_Being a latched of a _slantim_ usually means a shorter life and lower magical capabilities._

Harry stopped reading. _I have to tell dad!_ he thought, looking around to see if a slantim was visable. If that creature, the one Harry thought he made up to keep him company, was a slantim, it was probably still hanging around.

Severus walked into his rooms about half an hour later to Harry pacing the main room.

"What is wrong?" Harry stopped pacing when Severus spoke up. He didn't say anything, though, just picked up a book from the table and handed it to him. Severus skimmed the page and gave Harry a confused look.

"And what does this have to do with anything?"

"I've met him!"

"What?"

"When I was younger, at the Dursley's! I used to make up friends because no one ever wanted to play with me. I thought I made him up. He seemed so nice . . ."

"Perhaps you are mistaken," Severus suggested.

"I . . . don't think so. The picture looks exactly as I remember him."

"Have you seen this slantim recently?" Harry shook his head. "Well, I'll look into it, but we really can't do anything about it now," Severus said, feeling disturbed. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"Okay," Harry reluctantly agreed. If Severus said there wasn't anything they could do immediately, Harry believed him.

"I spoke with the Jones, and they agreed you could stay there until I'm back at the manor. I told them one of your friends was recently killed, and that you don't wish to talk about it, but you are taking time off of school."

"Okay," Harry said again, ambivalent.

"What?"

"It's just . . . it's stupid," Harry finally answered. What it was, really, was that he hadn't spent that much time away from his dad since . . . well, since that first summer with him.

"It probably isn't. What is it?"

"I won't see you for two weeks!" Harry nearly yelled, then looked down at the ground, embarrassed.

"I see," Severus said, half smirking, half worried. Fourteen year old boys usually don't have separation anxiety. "It's not that long of a time, and you'll be with your friends. Other students at Hogwarts don't see their parents for months at a time," Severus said, and Harry didn't answer. "Harry?" he wondered if he said something wrong.

"I'm sorry, I . . . just . . . the longest we've gone without seeing each other is a few days."

"You'll be fine, Harry. I'll write, alright?"

"I guess."

"Harry . . ."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just being a freak."

"Harry, you are not a freak. I've told you that many times."

"Yeah, well, then why don't I want to go? I'm acting like a little kid who is afraid of his parents leaving."

"Well, you are, are you not?"

"I'm not a little kid!" Harry said defensively.

"I meant that it is the first time you will be away from me for a prolonged period of time. Normally, children are younger during this stage, but . . ."

"You're only proving the point that I'm a freak!" Harry said, then ran to his room, slamming the door. Severus shook his head. _Is this a stage_? he wondered. Severus didn't know whether to go talk to him or just let him cool down. In the end, he just decided to wait.

Two days later, and not much talking between Harry and Severus, Severus started to get worried. Harry had never acted like this before. Albus' and Minerva's suggestion was to talk with him, but still have him go to his friend's house. Minerva had said that it was possible that because of the abuse when he was younger, he might not be fully emotionally developed, and Severus saw the truth in that. Harry was pretty much unpredictable in that aspect.

So, about two hours before Severus was going to bring Harry to the Jones, he was outside Harry's door, waiting for him to open it. It took about two minutes.

"Harry, may we speak?"

"About what? How you're trying to get rid of me?" Harry spat.

"Harry," Severus sighed, "I'm not trying to get rid of you. Think of it as a vacation. You've told me several times how you've always wanted to stay overnight at someone's house." Harry didn't answer, so Severus led him to his bed and sat down. Harry shortly followed suit.

"I love you, Harry. What don't you understand about that?" he asked quietly. Harry still didn't answer.

"Fine," Harry finally answered, then moved to get up. Severus held his shoulder with one hand, and Harry's chin in the other, forcing the boy to look at him.

"Harry? You'll have fun. Nothing will change between us."

Two hours later, a long talk over tea ("_Tea, again?_", Harry had asked. It was an annoying quirk, to Harry anyway, to drink tea for every little occasion), a trip through the floo and a walk to the neighbor's, Harry was feeling a little better, but still slightly abandoned. He knew it wasn't logical, but it felt like Severus didn't want him around, despite what the man kept saying.

Now that he was at the Jones' house, he was starting to get excited, though. He hadn't seen any of his friends from this area since last summer, and he was beginning to think that perhaps his dad was correct in saying that it would be fun.

It was Jamee that opened the door.

"Harry! Hi! Oh, it's so good to see you!" she said, jumping around a little. Jesse is currently stuck in front of the video games. Mom and Dad bought us a game set for the game room. It's nearly impossible to get him off now. Have you ever played any video games?" Jamee asked, and Harry shook his head. "Oh, well, we'll have to get you some playing time." Jesse and Jamee were twins, and were nearly exactly alike, despite the fact of Jamee being a girl, and Jesse a boy. For most cases, if one liked something, the other one liked it. The only exceptions Harry had crossed was what food they liked. "You'll be staying in Jesse's room. Oh, hi, Mr. Snape."

"Hello, Miss Jones. If it's alright with you, I'd like to say goodbye to my son," Severus replied. Jamee nodded and went into the next room, which Harry remembered was the kitchen. "You'll be alright, Harry?"

"Yeah, I think so. Sorry I've been such a prat for the past two days, I just . . ."

"No need to apologize. Now, go off and have fun, and don't get into any trouble. I will see you in about two weeks."

"Okay. Bye, dad," Harry said, giving Severus a small hug, and took his small, unmagical trunk to put in Jesse's room.


	14. Death and Prophecy

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**A/N: Um. . . Good reading? Nothing else to announce.**

**Thanks to: ****Luna Moonlight Fawn****Touch of the Wind****Silent as the Grave****Merry Sparrow****Heksie****sambee****Catti666****cmtaylor531****Helkardowen****leggylover03****CalliM****RubyPotter****HaliJade Snape****Alexi.Locke****1derland pixie****azntgr01****VickiWeasley****Lady Lily3****Cedric55d****Serpent91****HecateDeMort****momocolady****Beth5572****Bluebear13****AnnF****, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, ****bandgeekforlife****Flamegirl22****uknowho****, and ****SailorHecate**** for the reviews. Sorry if I missed anyone. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 14 - Death and Prophecy**

"Albus," Severus greeted with a nod. Albus wanted to talk to him as soon as Severus was back.

"Hello, Severus. Things went well with Harry, I hope?"

"Yes. He finally seems to have gotten it in his head that I'm not abandoning him."

"Better to learn that now than when he's an adult. It would have been harder if you put it off," Albus said, probably for the tenth time.

"Of course. I just find it hard that he is so . . ."

"Possessive?" Albus suggested, and Severus nodded. "Remember, before you, he never had a family of his own. I suppose it would be worse if you found yourself a woman, though."

"What?" Severus asked, slightly confused.

"If you started dating, Harry wouldn't be the only family in your life. The situation is a little different than being separated from him for two week." Severus shook his head. Before now, he never thought about that. He wasn't planning on dating anytime soon, though. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if he never dated in the future.

"Now," Severus said, changing the conversation topic. "What did you wish to talk with me about?" Albus' smile fainted slightly.

"I wish to tell you why Voldemort attacked the Potters," the old man said, looking every bit his age, and Severus paled.

"I am supposing it has to do with Harry, and not with his parents," Severus said flatly.

"Unfortunately, yes. You see, there was a prophecy, one that was traced at the time to either Harry or Mr. Longbottom," Albus said, and Severus snorted. "Voldemort chose Harry, most likely because he was a half blood, as Voldemort himself was."

"And what does this prophecy say?" Severus asked, at the same time realizing he didn't want to know. Albus told him anyway.

"Marked as his equal . . . neither can live . . . Albus, are you saying _Harry_ has to stop the Dark Lord? He's just a child!"

"The prophecy points to him as capable of stopping Voldemort. It does not mean that he is the only one."

"But . . ." Severus continued for the old man.

"But, it is quite likely that Harry would be our hope of stopping him."

"So the Dark Lord wished to stop him as a child, only to mark him."

"Unfortunately. I am telling you this because you are his guardian. It is your choice whether or not to tell Harry, but I suggest not to do so until he is older. This about it, Severus."

Severus nodded, then rose to leave, thinking about what he was just told. Knowing how innocent and fragile Harry is, he found it hard to believe the boy would be able to fulfill such a destiny. As soon as he thought that, though, he knew how wrong it was. Harry was very strong, just young. He was as far from innocent in some ways, but in other ways, he was nothing but.

But the question really was when he was going to tell Harry about the Prophecy. When he'd do it, he wanted to tell him in person, so he had time to think about it, but Severus wasn't one to procrastinate. Even more, though, he didn't want to tell Harry.

Harry had a right to know, though. _When I pick him up, I'll tell him_, he decided.

* * *

Harry sat at the window, watching it rain and thinking about what Severus was doing. As much as he knew that Severus wasn't going to leave him, he felt something was wrong.

He missed his dad. It had only been four days, and, although he had been having fun, he couldn't help but be depressed. He also couldn't help but feel abnormal. After all, Jamee and Jesse loved it when they got away from their parents.

"Harry," a voice from behind Harry said, causing him to jump. "Mum says we have to get to bed," Jesse said, and Harry nodded.

"I'll be right there," Harry answered, giving one more look out the window. Rain was always comforting to him. Getting up, after Jesse left, he got ready for bed.

* * *

Harry woke up by falling off the bed. This was a good thing, though, because it woke him from his vision. What he saw, he wasn't willing to believe. He had him. Voldemort had Sirius! Careful not to wake his roommate, Harry slowly got up and left the room.

Not knowing what else to do but panic, Harry snuck out of the house and ran to Prince Manor. Severus dropped his magical trunk off at the manor, and he needed his invisibility cloak if his last-minute plan was going to work.

He was in the Department of Mysteries, whatever that was. He knew where it was, though, so that was all that mattered. Voldemort showed him where it was. Getting there was the hard part. The Department of Mysteries happened to be in the Ministry of Magic.

Harry, thinking as he let the wards recognize him as he ran into the manor, decided he would floo to the Ministry. Severus took him there once like that. The floo didn't actually take you to the Ministry, but to a doorway in.

In the hallway, Harry dug through the closet he knew Severus kept his invisibility cloak. He was about to run to the parlor to use the floo, when he decided he should owl Severus. Briefly, Harry thought about just waiting and telling his dad, but decided against it. Sirius needed help _now_. With a quick note to Severus telling him what was going on, Harry summoned an owl, sent it, then ran to the floo.

Outside the Ministry, telling the annoying phone person that he was there to speak with Mr. Weasley (he couldn't think of any other reason but the truth, and he wasn't going to say that), Harry finally got into the building. Then outside the Department of Mysteries, under his invisibility cloak.

Now Harry was stuck. With the door being locked, he had no way to get in. Harry then wondered how Voldemort got into the Ministry. It just didn't make sense.

_But he wants me here for a reason_, Harry thought. _I'm here, so now what?_ Trying his luck, even though he knew the door was still locked, Harry reached for the doorknob. He pulled back his hand when he heard a noise behind him, then everything went black.

When he woke, Harry was in the room from his vision. The room they were keeping Sirius in. He was in the Department of Mysteries! _But how_? Harry wondered. Slowly he came to his sense, and Harry unwillingly let out a moan. Voldemort must have captured him!

"Well, well, well. Look who's awake," Harry heard a voice behind him say, and he went to grab for his wand. "Don't bother looking for it," Voldemort said, anticipating this. "It's rather . . . odd, how we came to have the same core, is it not, Potter? I have tried your wand; works rather well, if I must say so myself. Perfect backup." Harry, in pain from who knows what, glared at the dark lord but didn't say anything. "Have you lost your tongue, boy? Speak!"

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked, ignoring the pain which he finally pinpointed to his ankle. _They must have drugged me or something_, Harry thought. _I can't think straight_.

"Oh, he's here. You'll see him soon. But first, I have a favor to ask of you. You see, just under fifteen years ago, I heard of a prophecy. I knew enough to know it was about you and me. Unfortunately, I only heard part of it at the time. Fortunately, it is kept here, in this room." Voldemort stopped his pacing and turned to look at Harry.

"Then just listen to it, or whatever you have to do!" Harry said before thinking, once again. Voldemort's better mood was almost instantly shattered.

"That is where you come in," Voldemort continued flatly, as if Harry never spoke. "If you wish to see Black, you will retrieve the Prophecy and hand it to Lucius. If you do not, he will be killed immediately."

"No!" Harry said. "You can't kill Sirius!"

"Oh, but I can. I can. I have the power right now. As much as an inconvenience you have been to me, you still are extremely weak. You will follow my rules, or you will pay. There is no other way.

"Where is the prophecy?" Harry asked reluctantly. He didn't see what the big deal with a prophecy is. The only real one he ever heard was with Trelawley, but that already happened. What was so important about a prophecy that was fifteen years old? Handing over the prophecy would be a small price for Sirius' life.

Voldemort laughed and lead the limping Harry to the next row, and Malfoy followed. Quickly, to get it over with, Harry picked up the prophecy and gave it to Malfoy.

"Play it, Lucius," spat Voldemort, and Malfoy nodded.

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."_

Harry fell to the ground, his legs too weak to hold him anymore. What did the prophecy mean? Voldemort had said that it was about Harry and him. Did that mean he was destined to kill Voldemort? Before he could dwell on it any longer, Harry heard shouting from down the row.

"Sirius!" Harry said, attempting to get up, but settled for crawling fast toward his godfather because of the pain in his ankle. Both Voldemort and Malfoy laughed.

"Kill Black," Voldemort ordered.

"No!" Harry shouted at the same time someone said "Avada Kedavra." Green light shot from a wand and hit Sirius in the chest. Harry then fell once again into blackness.

* * *

_I can't believe how stupid he can be!_ thought Severus. They were now holding an emergency meeting to search for Harry. About four hours ago, Severus got the letter that Harry sent before he left for the Ministry, but by the time they got to the Department of Mysteries, there was nothing there but a dead Black and a missing prophecy. They were too late.

"I know where he is," said a young man walking into the room. Severus recognized him as one of the spies. "The Riddle Manor. I just left there. His followers are currently celebrating. Potter's not in very good shape."

"Only problem is, we don't know where the Riddle Manor is," said Moody, and half the room nodded in agreement.

"I do," Severus said. "I've been there before. I had to walk from a nearby pub." Severus was out of his seat in an instant.

"Severus," Dumbledore said, causing him to pause. "I don't think you should go. Just tell us where it is."

"I'm going, dammit!" he shouted. "And you better not try and stop me. I know that manor better than anyone here; I'd be able to find him quicker!"

"Severus," interrupted McGonagall.

"I am going to save my son," Severus said in a forced whisper, and Dumbledore nodded sadly.

"Show us the way. You are not going alone," the old man relented.

* * *

Harry screamed in pain. He thought a few _crucio_'s were bad, this was way worse. At least with the end of the Third Tournament, he had a chance of defending himself.

The pain stopped and the tormenter left the cell, leaving Harry alone and causing him to sigh in relief. He knew the man would be back, though. Someone had come in at intervals since he woke up. Harry didn't know what they wanted from him, but some part of him was willing to give whatever they wanted to stop the pain from returning. Another part of him wished they would just kill him already, and yet another part was wishing for his dad.

Harry knew he made a mistake going to the Department of Mysteries by himself. He should have fire called Severus. He or Dumbledore would have known what to do. Now, he was alone and he was sure there was no way out of this one. He had always been lucky before, but Harry was sure luck could not help him. All Harry was capable of was waiting.

* * *

Severus snuck down to the dungeons of the Riddle Manor. The dungeons of the building were built long after the house was built, so they were very different than the rest of the house. Severus was surprised that they didn't change the wards on the house since he was found out a spy, but they probably figured it wouldn't matter because they thought Voldemort was the only one who knew of it's location. That, and it had been unoccupied since the Dark Lord's first demise.

Once in the dungeons, Severus checked each cell, careful to listen for any guards. He knew there would be guards; the Dark Lord wouldn't be so careless to not do so. He was just about to turn down a corridor when he heard screaming from a different part. Worried, Severus changed direction and followed the screaming.

Reaching the cell where the torture was taking place, Severus hid in the cell beside it. As much as he wanted to run in there and kill the torturer, the Order had agreed that stealth would be the best way to get him out. If Harry was injured, which Severus was sure he was, the less distractions and attacks from Death Eaters the better.

After what seemed like an eternity, Harry's screams finally ended, and the man left the cell and sat down in a chair facing it. Careful not to be seen, Severus watched the man, a Death Eater he did not recognize, take a drink of something from the side table. It gave Severus an idea of how to get Harry out without being discovered.

While the man was drinking, Severus silently threw a stunning spell at the man. The man dropped the jug with a crash as he slumped down in his chair. Sure that the Death Eater was out, Severus got up, pulling a vial out of his robes. A sleeping potion. It was traceable, but Severus hoped that they wouldn't test a guard who fell asleep on the job for a potion. They would notice a stunner, but Severus had enough experience with them to know they wouldn't expect a potion.

Shoving the potion down the guard's throat, Severus put him in a potion that would look like he fell asleep drinking. Deciding to wait until he and Harry were leaving to take the stunner off, Severus ran to the cell door. With a simple unlocking spell, which Severus thanked the guard for being so careless, Severus ran in.

"Harry! Harry can you hear me?" he asked, kneeling next to his son.

"D-dad? Is that you?" Harry asked, his voice hoarse from screaming.

"Yes," Severus answered, pulling a pain potion from his robes. "Take this, it's a pain reliever."

"Er . . ." Harry said, taking the potion. Severus could tell he was wary, but he didn't want to waste time on lecturing why he shouldn't take a potion without asking more questions. After all, Severus could have been a Death Eater under polyjuice feeding his poison. But they were in a hurry, so it would have to wait.

"Come on," Severus said, helping the young boy up.

"Wait! My wand!"

"I have it. They still haven't changed where they keep prisoner's things," Severus said, slightly amused. This was going way too easy. That thought made him slightly uncomfortable. Harry nodded in consent. Seeing a torch in the corner of the room, Severus tossed it to the ground, which was covered in . . . something flammable, along with the cloak Harry was wearing to jump start the fire. He wasn't sure exactly what was on the ground, but it burned and that was what mattered. Careful not to hurt Harry more than he already was, Severus lifted the stunner off the guard and passed the drugged man toward the stairs.

"You found him!" said Tonks. "What's that burning smell?"

"Prove who you are," Severus said flatly and quietly. For an auror, Tonks sure didn't know how to be quiet. Tonks' face quickly changed to looked like Severus, something that made him very uneasy, before going back to her normal face.

"We found no one else in the Manor. I assume they'll be back soon. Now that we know where this is, though, we can keep watch on it and bust in when it's a good time. I'm surprised at the lack of wards, though," Tonks said.

"They probably haven't gotten to it yet," grumbled Severus. "Let's go. Harry needs medical attention." Severus apparated Harry to the Order headquarters, and Tonks went to collect the rest of the crew, making sure that there was no other evidence but Harry's disappearance that they were there.


	15. Surviving

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**A/N: I know this is taking forever to update, but I have my reasons. I didn't realize I was going to be so unorganized this summer! I can't wait for school to start, because I'll be on an actual schedule, and I'll have more time to write! (YAY!) I also am kind of slow on writing because I've been getting my Hogwarts Book Club role play site up. If you want to know more about it, check my profile. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Thanks to: ****C K Brook****GoddessMoonLady****dartanian****CatWriter****Daniel Freakz****MorganEddasil****HecateDeMort****Catti666****Luna Moonlight Fawn****Helkardowen****, Alexis8907, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, ****RidDles girl****, Moon Turnip, ****Heksie****Beth5572****SailorHecate****Flamegirl22****azntgr01****Wings-of-Ivory****RubyPotter****CalliM****amanda burke****vbollman****Xanadu Princess****natzno1****Touch of the Wind****, Teal , ****momocolady****bandgeekforlife****Silent as the Grave****uknowho****Whitelight72****, and ****Serpent91****for the reviews. Sorry if I missed anyone. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 15 - Surviving**

To say that Severus was angry was a like saying Voldemort loved muggleborns. In fact, he couldn't decide which feeling was stronger – the relief that Harry was alive or the anger at the fact that the boy was so _stupid_ to do something like that. What was he thinking, meeting the Dark Lord by himself!

No longer able to sit still beside Harry's infirmary bed, Severus got up and left to take a walk around the school.

Harry was slightly surprised when he woke in a soft bed. Actually, he was surprised that he woke up at all. Then he remembered that his father found him last night and he let out a sigh. Slowly opening his eyes to find himself in a part of the Hospital Wing that he never been in before, he was glad that it wasn't very bring. Still all white, but the lights were slightly dimmed.

He was disappointed when he saw no one was in the room with him, though. He wanted to apologize to his dad, but not even he was around. Deciding that he had to go to the bathroom and that he wasn't in that much pain, he threw off the covers and headed toward the door. Right outside the door, he ran into Severus.

"Where you do think you are going?" his father asked flatly.

"Er . . . the bathroom?" Harry answered, and Severus nodded. Harry continued on his way, and got a little nervous when his father followed him. When Harry was finished, the man was waiting outside the bathroom for him. "Um . . ." Harry said, not really knowing what to say.

"I do believe we need to talk," Severus said, and Harry looked at the ground as he followed his father to the room he was staying in. "Sit. How do you feel?"

"Okay," Harry answered. "I've felt better, but I've really felt worse."

"Do you understand how _stupid_ what you did was?" Severus asked, having trouble keeping his temper. "You went to face the _Dark Lord_, alone! You are _very_ lucky we were able to find you! If it wasn't for one of the spies knowing about you, you would probably be dead right now! And if not, you'd be near it!"

"I'm sorry," Harry said quietly, tears starting to form. "I _know_ it was stupid. I . . . I just didn't know what to do." _Sirius is dead, because of me_, he thought.

"Yes, it was. We will have to take care of this . . . _hero_ complex of yours this summer," Severus said, a little calmer. "When you are feeling better, we will talk over your punishment. But, for now, you should get some sleep." Severus stood near the bed the Harry was now laying on, the white sheets soaked with tears. Knowing the boy needed comforting, Severus sat down next to his head and sat him up before leaning the boy against himself. Just as Severus expected, Harry clung on to him and continued crying.

He knew the experience was a traumatic one. From his own Death Eater days, he knew what was done to prisoners, so he knew that he would be dealing with plenty of sleepless nights with him.

The summer was, more or less (depending on your point of view), calm. Since the Department of Mysteries incident, Voldemort had been calm, which convinced Fudge to still not declare the second rise of the Dark Lord. Fudge, instead, had been working on ways to discredit Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, mostly through articles written by the 'esteemed' Rita Skeeter. Through these articles, Albus Dumbledore was portrayed as incompetent, and Harry as insane and a little Dark.

Nearly all summer, Harry had nightmares about being captured by Voldemort. Nothing helped at first, and he actually ended up sleeping with his father to prevent the nightmares. Slowly, he was able to sleep on his own again, something he was glad about, since today was September 1st. He didn't want to have to sleep in Severus' chambers during the school year.

Harry's punishment was pretty much a bunch of lectures, extra summer work, and he was rarely allowed to leave his father's sight for the first month of holiday, expect when Severus was doing Order business. Severus hoped that it would cure the boy of his needing to be heroic, but he didn't want it tested.

Now, Harry and the Weasleys were on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, boarding the train. Harry really wasn't in a very good mood because everyone kept giving him rude, scared, or amazed looks. It was worse than when he first entered the wizarding world.

"Ignore them, Harry," Hermione said. "They don't know anything."

"Yeah, but that doesn't help," Harry answered, in a sulky mood. He was beginning to wish he went with his father to Hogwarts early instead of opting to take the train. He had gotten about four warnings from people he didn't even know . . . and they have been at the train station for five minutes!

"Come on, let's get a compartment before they are full," Ron said, and the trio made their way through the train. Unfortunately, most the compartments were full, but they were able to find Ginny and Neville, who were in a compartment near the middle of the train. In the compartment was someone that Harry hadn't met before. She was sitting quietly, reading the Quibbler upside down.

"Hello," she said when she saw that three more people had entered the compartment. "Oh," she said seeing Harry. "You must be Harry Potter. My father hasn't been printing those awful things everyone else has been saying about you."

"Your father?" Harry asked, confused at what she was talking about, but glad that there was _someone_ he didn't know who didn't believe he was crazy.

"My father owns the Quibbler, silly," she said, like it was the most obvious statement in the world. "Oh, no, silly me! I never introduced myself! I'm Luna Lovegood!"

"Loony Luna, is more like it," Ron mumbled under his breath, causing Hermione to elbow him in the side and Harry to hope that Luna didn't near him.

"Hi, Luna," Harry replied, cautious. He _did _think her a bit weird, after knowing her for only a few minutes, but Severus suggested before he left for Hogwarts that Harry should try to gain an alliance with anyone who would believe him. Harry was reluctant to agree at first, because what if they were only being nice to try to get him to Voldemort? Severus explained, though, that he didn't have to trust everyone who said they believed him; only to be on friendly terms with them.

Harry had been very cautious since the Department of Mysteries. He knew Severus didn't fully trust him not to do something impulsive like that again, but Harry knew he wouldn't. He know knew that everything might not turn out good in the end.

Ron had been a little suspicious of the change in Harry, but Hermione understood what Ron called his 'Slytherin Side', and agreed that Harry _should_ be more careful. "After all," she had said. "He does have all of Voldmort's followers out to kill him, now. Might as well be as careful as he possibly can!"

Severus did tell Harry that he noticed a change. He had been slightly more involved in his studies during the summer (he barely complained about the amount of work that Severus made his do), and what he did, he did a lot better than previous years. It proved that if he actually tried, he could do _very_ well in school.

He had to admit, though, that he still wasn't very good at Potions. His philosophy was pretty much, "If I can used something someone I trust has made, why make it myself?" Of course, the more he thought about this, the more this idealism was slowly changing.

"Hi, Harry!" Neville said. "How has your summer gone? You are so lucky you got off school early." Neville didn't know about Harry 'incident' from the end of the last school year, so he didn't know that he spent those last two weeks of school in Severus' chambers, being punished. At that time, since he was still not of full health, so most of his punishment was lines.

"Okay," Harry answered. "Dad made me do a lot of studying, though. I'm probably almost ready to take my O.W.L.'s!"

"I wish we didn't have to take them," Neville said. "My Grandma has been bugging me about them all summer. I did some studying, but not much. I started a small greenhouse, though, and Dumbledore is allowing me to floo back on the weekends to check up on them!"

"That's great, Neville!" Harry didn't have much interest for herbology, but he knew that it was all Neville seemed to be good at.

"What do you plan on doing after Hogwarts, Neville?" Hermione asked. "I heard this year our Head of House will talk to us to help us figure it out. We will need to know what we want to do, so we know what classes to take our sixth and seventh years."

"I'm not sure," Neville answered. "I was thinking about becoming an apprentice to an herbologist. Other than that, I don't know."

"I'm not sure what I want to be. I know I want a job in the magical world, but there is so much to choose from! I also want to learn some more studies for muggles, like math and science. My parents bought me a bunch of text books to work out of, but it really would help to have actual classes."

"There is a University for wizards, squibs and family of muggle borns," Harry said. "Dad was telling me about it. He said it's really hard to get into, though. I forgot what it is called, but they teach both muggle classes and wizard classes there."

"I think I heard about that, but I couldn't find any information about it at home. What do you want to be, Harry?" Hermione asked, turning the tables onto him.

"I'm not sure. At first, I was thinking I wanted to be an auror, but I really don't want to fight Dark Wizards my entire life," he answered, and Hermione gave him a look of understanding, "but I want to do something that will help people. I . . . this may sound stupid, but after the war is over, I want to work with orphans."

"Like a social worker?" Hermione asked, and everyone but Harry gave her a look of pure confusion.

"What's a social worker?" Ginny asked.

"It's a person who . . . helps people, pretty much. I actually don't know how to explain it. I do know that one of my aunts is a social worker, though, and she loves it. The pay isn't too great, but she works at a school right now." Harry just shrugged, and those in the compartment spent most of the ride to Hogwarts talking about their futures.

A week later, almost the entire school was frustrated. The new D.A.D.A. teacher was terrible, and no one was learning anything. Also, she was obviously working for Fudge (she said so _herself_), which meant that he was also not believing Voldemort's return.

"We need do to something about this," Hermione said. "We should start a group. One where we could teach ourselves defense, and be _ready_ for Voldemort if he ever attacks."

"You mean, kind of like our own 'junior-Order'?" Harry asked.

"Kind of. But we won't be fighting, we'd just be training."

"And who, besides us, would be in this?" asked Ginny.

"Well, we know of a few people who believe Harry," Ron said. "How about we just ask them?"

"We need to be more quiet about it, Ron! Honestly," Hermione said, shaking her head, "If Umbridge finds out, she might to something about it. She already made two Educational Decrees in the past week. We need to talk to people. How about a meeting?"

"When would we meet? _Where_?" Harry asked. "I don't think we should do a meeting. You know, I'll talk to my dad. He'll probably help us. He hates Umbridge more than most people, I think.

"I don't think that's possible," Ron said. "Anyway . . . I mean, how do you know that Snape would help us?" he continued, and Harry glared at him.

"You know, although everyone knows me as Harry Potter, Harry Snape _is _my legal name."

"Oh, yeah," Ron said, blushing. "I forgot about that. Why do you sign your name Harry Potter, then?"

"Ronald, I thought he went over this with you before," Hermione interrupted. "Everyone _knows_ him as Harry Potter. For legal document, he has to sign his legal name, but most people don't realize he changed his name to Snape." Ron just rolled his eyes, and Harry shook his head.

"I'll ask Dad tonight, after dinner," Harry said, before going back to his pointless defense essay. "This is really stupid," he commented, and even Hermione agreed before she went back to work and Ron went back to playing chess with Ginny.


	16. A Plan is Formed

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**A/N: Check out my other stories if you have time.**

**Thanks to: living-is-easy-with-eyes-closed, ****starbright37****Adam's Mel****VickiWeasley****Cherri202****, Rayne, ****DarkAndHaunted****Coeur Casse****HecateDeMort****uknowho****Lady Lily3****Helkardowen****momocolady****, Alexis8907, ****bandgeekforlife****RubyPotter****SailorHecate****Harrysmate****, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, ****RidDles girl****FireChildSlytherin5****Touch of the Wind****Serpent91****, yana, ****GoddessMoonLady****Daniel Freakz****, and ****Merry Sparrow**** for the reviews. Sorry if I missed anyone. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 16 - A Plan is Formed**

Harry headed down to the dungeons to look for his father. It was close to curfew, as Harry couldn't go down immediately after dinner, but he figured that he could always stay the night in his father's rooms. Severus never said no before.

Unfortunately, he didn't make it to the dungeons without incident.

"Ahem," he heard Umbridge clear her throat behind him, and Harry stopped, turning around to face her. "Why are you so far from Gryffindor tower when curfew is in a few minutes?" she asked, her voice annoying him more so than usual.

"I'm visiting my father," he answered. "He said he wanted to talk to me. Family business or something," Harry lied. He knew that if Umbridge confronted Severus, Severus wouldn't say that wasn't the case, so he figured he wouldn't be caught in the lie.

"And what's so important that you need to be out this late at night?"

"I'm not sure," he answered, getting annoyed. "He didn't say. But he'll get mad if I don't get into his rooms before curfew. He doesn't like it when rules are disobeyed," Harry hinted. Of course, Severus wouldn't be mad about that, but he did hate when people thought they were above the rules.

"Very well," she huffed. "Move along." Harry nodded, glad to have gotten away without getting points off or something, which he was sure that would have happened. Not wanting to run into anyone else, he hurried to Severus' office. He told Umbridge that he was headed for Severus' rooms, but he figured that his father wasn't there yet; earlier that day he said something about having to get something done, and he usually didn't work in his rooms. It wasn't the correct atmosphere, or something like that.

Thinking of atmosphere, Harry thought of the Order headquarters, and his throat tightened when he thought of Sirius. Severus, and everyone else, told him over and over again that it wasn't his fault Sirius died, but Harry couldn't help feeling guilty. Pushing the thought out of his head as he arrived at Severus' office door, he knocked, hoping the man was in there. Fortunately, he opened the door almost immediately, as if he were expecting Harry.

"A little late to be calling?" his father asked, and Harry just shrugged and walked in before his father closed the door and sat back down at his desk. "I am almost done with this, then I need to stop in at the Slytherin Common room. Then I assume you wish to talk?" Harry nodded, wondering why he needed to stop in the common room.

"Why do you need to go to the common room?" Harry decided to ask, not wanting to breach the subject of a defense group just yet.

"I check in every day, and usually ever night, Harry. I would have thought you knew that by now," Severus answered, as if it were the most obvious thing.

"Oh," Harry said. "I haven't noticed before."

"I see," Severus said in an unreadable tone. He then moved to put away the papers he was filling out, then stood up. "Come along. The sooner I check in on Slytherin, the sooner we may talk."

"Wait," Harry said, confused. "I'm going with you to the common room?"

"I am not going to leave you in here alone," Severus answered, and Harry blushed. Last time Severus left Harry alone in his office, near the end of last year, before the Third Task, Harry ended up going through the papers that his father was grading. "Besides that, I feel it is about time you were integrated into Slytherin. As you are my son, you are an honorary member. I actually feel as if I should have done so last year, but with the Triwizard Tournament, it was unlikely to go well. Also, now that the Dark Lord is back, I feel it necessary for you to become at least acquaintances with those your age."

"So they don't end up like their parents?" Harry asked without thinking. When Severus didn't answer, Harry switched topics. "Don't you think that they'd resent me being in their common room? I am a Gryffindor."

"If they do, they will not show it," Severus answered. "They know you are my son, and as their Head of House, they will respect at least that."

"Oh," Harry answered, nervous at the idea of going into the Slytherin common room as himself. Once in awhile a Slytherin would talk to him, but most of the time, they just ignored him. "Are you sure it will be okay?" Harry asked, despite knowing that it would irritate his father.

"Yes," Severus said flatly. Harry followed Severus out of the office, waited for him to ward the door, and then followed. Although he had been to the Slytherin common room before, disguised, it was long enough ago that he didn't really remember what it looked like, or even how to get there. After all, they _were_ more worried about other things at the time. Now, though, Harry paid close attention to where they were going in case he ever needed to get there on his own, but he was worried about what the Slytherins would think of him being there. Yeah, he was almost sorted into Slytherin, and his father was Slytherin, but he really was a Gryffindor. Everything since he started Hogwarts proved that.

He really wished that he was more Slytherin than Gryffindor. Severus told him once that if he _was_ sorted into Slytherin, he probably would act more like one, but right now, he was too used to being a Gryffindor. _Maybe if I make some Slytherin friends_, he thought, _I'll be able to act more like a Slytherin and stop getting into stupid situations. _He doubted any of the Slytherins his age would want to talk to him, though. It looked like most of them listened to Malfoy, and since Malfoy hated him, it went without saying. There were more Slytherins who he really didn't know, like the ones in class who rarely spoke up, and he was hoping that at least one of them didn't like Malfoy.

His dad was probably right, though. He's a Slytherin himself and had been the Head of Slytherin for a long time, so he knew the students there. They were probably less likely to believe the stories that he was crazy from the Prophet, especially those that put down their Head of House. Harry's nerves, though, got worse the closer they got to the common room.

Severus gave the password (Harry heard it, but figured it would change by the next time he came around, _if_ he ever came around again), so he didn't bother to try and remember it. Oddly enough, the common room didn't look much like it did in second year, but that made sense. It was probably easier to change things around in a dungeon than it was in a tower. There was simply more room to do so.

The colors were, of course, green and silver, but the room itself had a really warm feeling to it. It felt like he could be content here for however long he wanted to be. After thinking about it for awhile, he figured there had to be charms on the common room somehow. There was no way the colors of the room would make him feel this good; they never did before.

"Stay in the common room, Harry," Severus said while Harry was looking at those there. The common room was _much_ bigger than the Gryffindor common room, so, although there were probably the same amount of students, it wasn't as crowded. The students who noticed them come in looked at them, some with general interest, some of them glaring, and some just not caring. The younger kids were the ones who appeared interested in the arrival of Harry Potter in their common room. They were the ones, after all, who hadn't known him since he was eleven. Remembering that his father had addressed him, he nodded and looked around for someone to talk to. He didn't know how long his father was going to take, but he didn't want to just stand there like an idiot the entire time.

He was building up courage to go and join a group of four sitting in chairs near the middle of the room – they looked the most welcoming, although Harry guessed that they were a year younger than him since he didn't have any classes with them – when he felt someone standing behind him and turned around.

"Potty," smirked Malfoy cruelly and Harry inwardly groaned. He didn't need this now . . . especially since he had no idea when Severus would be coming back. "What are you doing here?" he sneered.

"Waiting for my father, ferret," Harry answered, trying to be calm about it. It wasn't too hard, actually. After an entire summer of learning Occlumency, he was pretty decent at it. Not strong enough to keep Severus out at all times, but he was able to keep his defenses up at all times without giving it much thought. Harry noticed that it also helped him think better and more rational, something Severus like very much.

"Feel special, Potter?" Malfoy drawled, and Harry got an odd feeling that this boy was jealous. "Going to tell your little friends how you got into Slytherin?"

"My father brought me in since he needed to come and I was with him," Harry said, not answering Malfoy's questions. He found it pointless.

"I heard what happened at the end of last year, Potter," Malfoy said, narrowing his eyes. "That was _very_ stupid of you to do something like that."

"Like what?" Harry asked, wondering why Malfoy bothered to bring it up. Of course, he probably heard it from his father, but he didn't sound sarcastic at all. More like . . . worried.

"How you went after the Dark Lord," he whispered. "That was really _stupid_. Only a Gryffindor would do something like that," Malfoy said, still quiet, but there was more of that sarcasm back in his voice. "And a Gryffindor has no purpose in Slytherin, no matter _who_ your father is," he continued, even quieter. He then turned around and left – toward what Harry assumed was his dorm – and passed Severus, acknowledging his professor with nothing but a small nod. Harry burned with a little bit of anger at how Malfoy acted toward him and at how nonchalant he acted toward Severus. But, while Severus was looking over the common room, Harry thought about it. If Malfoy just wanted to warn Harry about being in Slytherin, why would he say he shouldn't have done what he did last year like an honest warning? He did get the feeling that Malfoy was jealous . . . but of what? He was determined to asked his dad about it as soon as they were alone, before asking about a defense group.

Sighing, and seeing that Severus was walking around the common room, talking to students and such, Harry sat down on the nearest chair and watched a game of chess that was being played by two very involved-in-the-game Slytherins. Harry didn't notice until just then how many were watching the game; there were about six students who were intently watching the game. Harry didn't know if they were better than Ron, but they sure took the game more seriously. Of course, Harry wasn't that much competition. He won nearly every game, and when he lost, it was usually because he was tired, or Harry was especially lucky. Or Harry got hints from Hermione.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Severus stop and talk to a young pair of Slytherins playing with a snake, and Harry almost itched to go talk to it, then remembered that he promised Anzee that he'd bring him a rat from Severus' stores. Harry didn't like keeping dead rats and mice in his room – stasis spell on them or not – so he now kept them in Severus' rooms. The man kept enough dead things for potions ingredients, so one more dead thing wouldn't make much of a difference. He just had to make sure that he kept them away from the potions stuff so they didn't get contaminated with anything that could kill Anzee.

Moving his attention to back to the chess game, Harry noticed that the game had to have been going on forever. He'd been watching the game for ten minutes, and only one move had been made, and only about half the pieces were taken off the board. It looked like they had a while to go. Not having anything else to do, Harry looked more closely at the board. He was no expert at chess, but both players looked to be defending their pieces pretty well. And, with the move that the Black just made, moving to attack. Harry actually wondered if he learned chess from a Slytherin – although, who would be willing to teach him, besides Severus, and he pretty much gets fed up with Harry's ability (or lack thereof) to play chess well – how much better he would be. Severus did teach him some, though, and since then, he _had_ been able to win a few games against Ron, but chess just wasn't his thing.

Harry was still studying the board when Severus put his hand on his shoulder, startling him.

"I am finished," his father said, and Harry nodded. He looked at the others watching the game, who seemed to be avoiding looking at him, and then followed Severus out of the common room. When they were both in Severus' rooms, Harry laid down on his usual sofa, and watched as Severus sat down.

"What did you wish to talk about?" Severus asked.

"I'll get there, but first, Malfoy talked to me in the common room," Harry said.

"Really," Severus said flatly. "What did he say?"

"He was being Malfoy," Harry answered, "but he seemed . . . jealous or something."

"Mr. Malfoy gets easily jealous of anything he assumes is his; it is simply the way in which he was raised."

"But what if it . . . hurt his feelings or something?" Harry asked, and immediately felt stupid. Why did he care if _Malfoy_'s feelings were hurt?

"Hurt because of what? That I adopted a Gryffindor? No, he is most likely upset that he is not the favorite of his Head of House."

"But . . ."

"No, Harry. I've known Draco Malfoy since he was a baby. He is loyal in every way to his father. If he tries to get you to believe anything else, it is because his father told him to do so."

"So, he'll become a Death Eater, just like his father," Harry stated grimly. As much as he hated Malfoy, being destined for something like that was just a cruel twist of fate.

"I hope to change that, now that it is known where my allegiance lies, but I know I have very little chance to do so. It is possible that his father warned him against listening to me in any such case. Now, that aside, what did you come to talk to me about?" Severus asked, changing the topic. Harry actually wanted to talk more about Malfoy, but decided to avoid annoying his father.

"Well, I was talking with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, and we were thinking of making a defense group, since Umbridge is no good. That, and we think it would be good to be better at defense with Voldemort back and all."

"I really wish you would cease calling him by his name," Severus sighed. "But why are you coming to me with this?"

"Well, because we don't want people to know. Hermione figures that Umbridge would find a way to ban the group, and we want it with only people we know we can trust. Kind of like the Order, but we'll only be working on defense stuff."

"So, what do you want?" Severus asked indifferently. Harry could tell that his father was interested, though.

"Er . . . I guess a place where we could meet without being found out. And, also, students who you think we could trust."

"And a Secret Keeper for the Fidelius charm?" suggested Severus, and Harry gave him a confused look. "The Fidelius charm would prevent anyone from telling the secret, except for the Secret Keeper."

"Yes, then definitely!" Harry said, sitting up. "But who should I invite? I figured I should talk to them separately. And Hermione came up with this idea to use charmed coins to let everyone know when the next meeting is. She's probably working on getting it working right now, knowing her." Severus nodded.

"This sounds like you have been talking about it for awhile."

"No," Harry replied, shaking his head. "We actually first talked about it today. So, people?" Harry asked again.

"Do you have parchment and a quill?" Severus asked back. Shaking his head, Harry got up and got some parchment and a quill from the desk in the next room. "There are not many I know of that would be willing to trust you. In fact, I suggest we perform the Fidelius charm before you leave tomorrow morning, so if those you talk to oppose, they will have no way of telling anyone."

"Okay," Harry nodded, still waiting for the list of people. He swore that his father was doing it on purpose, just to annoy him.

"Those you should be able to trust are Susan Bones, the Patil twins, Luna Lovegood, Anthony Goldstein, and Daphne Greengrass, although you may have to be careful with Lovegood. You know the Gryffindors better than I do, I must say, so I won't list them off."

"Okay," Harry said slowly, looking at the list. The problem now would be getting them alone to talk with them.

"Did you finish your homework?" Severus asked suddenly, and Harry nodded.

"Yeah, I did. Otherwise I would have come and found you sooner."

"Then I will perform the Fidelius charm now, making you are secret keeper. After you have everything set up, it might be best to transfer the secret keeping to me."

"Sure," Harry answered with a shrug. He trusted his dad, so that didn't really matter, and Severus performed the charm. Tired, mostly caused by the charm, Harry went to his room in Severus' quarters and fell asleep immediately.


	17. Returns

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**A/N: Check out my other stories if you have time.**

**Thanks to: ****HarrySlytherinson****snapescelticgirl****anaknisatanas****Fae Child19****zafaran****GaiaSolo****Celebwen Telcontar****Ariana-blood-hehe****tempete****Merry Sparrow****GoddessMoonLady****HecateDeMort****wynnleaf****brightsidetolife****excessivelyperky****starbright37****Catti666****leggylover03****, living-is-easy-with-eyes-closed, ****PHEONIX39****grey-shadow-horse****Serpent91****Beth5572****RainSeaker****, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, ****SailorHecate****cmtaylor531****Azzy494****Lady Lily3****cdkobasiuk****, and ****lady sakura cosmos**** for the reviews. Sorry if I missed anyone. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 17 - Returns**

Harry spent his time in Umbridge's detentions thinking about the D.A. (Defense Association), but they called in Dumbledore's Army just for the fun of it) to keep him mind off the pain of the quill. This was the second to the last day of his week of detention, and Harry had enough of it. The line written on the back of his hand wouldn't heal anymore.

Harry was going to tell his father after detention. He didn't know why he didn't do it sooner. Well actually, he did. One, he felt it was just between him and Umbridge. Two, he didn't want to seem like a . . . tattletale, for the lack of a better word. Three, he didn't want to get anyone else in trouble. If someone complained about how Umbridge did stuff, she just made another decree about it.

Since that was decided, Harry went back to thinking about the D.A. They currently had a total of ten people: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Fred, George, Susan Bones, Neville, Ginny, and Jackie Caneice (a Slytherin whose family was opposed to Voldemort), and although they wanted more people, it was hard enough to stay unnoticed. Severus would make sure Harry knew the material well before he would teach the others in the Room of Requirement, which was shown to him by Dobby.

Finally let out by Umbridge, Harry made his way to the dungeons, hoping his father wasn't in a detention with someone else. Thankfully, the man was only in his office correcting exams.

"Dad?" Harry asked quietly, closing the door behind him. He knew his dad didn't like him walking into his office without knocking, but Harry didn't feel comfortable waiting in the hall.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Severus asked. He always seemed to know now when Harry wasn't doing well. Not knowing how to start, Harry sighed and held out his hand, which was still bleeding. Severus grabbed the hand, standing up quickly and examined it. "What happened?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "I thought you were in detention."

"Yeah," Harry said quietly. "I was. Umbridge . . . she uses a blood quill. For my detentions, anyway."

"What?! How long has this been going on?"

"Er . . . every detention this week. And the one detention before that with her . . ."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Severus asked, angry, and Harry took a step back.

"I . . . don't know," Harry decided to say. He knew his father wouldn't like his excuses, so he kept them to himself.

"I'm not angry with you, Harry. I am disappointed that you did tell anyone, though," Severus said, and Harry looked down, feeling really bad about it. "Why did you? And tell the truth."

"Well, er . . . I didn't want to complain," Harry answered. "I've been through worse . . ."

"Harry," Severus scolded. "You've been through a lot worse, but, except by those damn muggle relatives of yours, _not_ by someone who is supposed to be looking out for your well being. And did you realize that if she is using this quill with you, she is probably using it with other students? Perhaps you could handle it; you did up until know, obviously, but those that aren't as accustomed to the bursts of pain like you are?"

"I'm sorry," Harry said. "It just seemed like the right thing to do. I _did _come to you!"

"Yes, I suppose you did," Severus said, a little calmer, examining the cuts. He then stood up and grabbed some healing ointment and rubbed it into Harry's hand. It stung, causing Harry to flinch.

"Don't rub it off," Severus said. "It should completely head the cut in an hour."

Harry had stopped paying attention to what Severus was doing when his father stood up before. His attention had traveled to a very familiar creature, one he hadn't seen in a very long time: the Slantim. Harry knew he shouldn't be happy, but there was a bit of happiness hiding down beneath the fear of seeing him again. After a few minutes, the happiness prevailed. Seeing the Slantim now caused him to forget entirely about the damage it had been causing most of Harry's life.

Severus watched his son, then followed the boy's gaze. Seeing nothing there, and the smile on Harry's face, he got suspicious, remembering a conversation they had at the end of last school year.

"Harry," Severus said. It took a few minutes, but he was finally about to get the boy's attention.

"He's here," Harry said, now sounding worried, the smile no longer on his face.

"Who"

"The Slantim," Harry whispered. "He wants me to go with him."

"Where?" Harry just hook his head. He was resisting the urge to go towards the creature who was once his imaginary friend. He took a few steps before Severus grabbed him and held him in a tight hug from behind.

"Don't listen, Harry," Severus told him. "He'll harm you, you know that." Harry struggled for awhile before he turned toward Severus, returning the hug. He then started crying, his grip on Severus lessened, and the older wizard had to pick his son as he passed out.

Worried, Severus laid Harry on the floor, using his outer robes as a pillow, and made sure he was stable with a few spells before he flooed Albus. The headmaster came immediately, and after hearing the predicament, he agreed to do some quick research on the subject.

Half an hour later, Harry woke up.

"Harry?"

"Hmm? What happened," Harry asked, sounding confused.

"You don't remember?" Harry shook his head. "The Slantim came back. You were trying to go with it."

"Oh," Harry answered, appearing to think hard. "I . . . I think I went with him before. I . . . came back, but I wasn't supposed to."

"What was it like?" Severus asked, and Harry shook his head again, refusing to answer.

"I don't want to go back. I almost didn't come back, but I did. If I go . . . I won't come back."

"Go _where_?" Severus asked, irritated with Harry's lack of answers. Again, Harry just shook his head, and Severus hoped that Albus would be able to find some answers, as Harry seemed unable to.

"How are you feeling?" Severus asked, changing the subject slightly.

"Tired," Harry replied, lying back down on the floor.

"I will get you some food," his father said. "Stay there." Harry didn't respond, so Severus turned to the fireplace to call the kitchens for something that would give Harry a lot of energy. He figured that the Slantim took a lot of energy of the boy's while there.

Harry stood up slowly while Severus was at the fireplace and stared at the book shelf. He knew the book he wanted was on there. Carefully, Harry moved a few books off the middle of the shelf and took one of the books behind it.

"Harry," Severus said, and Harry looked at him briefly before looking back at the book.

"Can I borrow this?" Harry asked, and when Severus tried to take it, Harry wouldn't let go.

"Energy Potions," Severus read. "With your current state, that might not be a bad idea. Yes, you may borrow it," Severus said, seemingly suspicious, but Harry didn't notice; just looked at the book with a smile. It was then that a house elf popped in with food, and Harry sat down to eat.

After he finished, Severus watching him the entire time, Harry stood up.

"I should get back before curfew," he said, and Severus shook his head.

"Stay in my rooms tonight, Harry," his father said. "I am going to the Slytherin common room now, so since you have finished, come along."

"Okay," Harry answered slowly. Usually, he enjoyed the nights he stayed in his room in his father's quarters, but for some reason, all he really wanted to do was read through the book he found, which was unusual for him.

"When they entered the common room, he caught Malfoy's eye, who glared at him with deep intensity. It was different than his other glares, though. It was almost like Malfoy was mad at him for a reason this time, as opposed to his usual hatred.

Breaking the eye contact, Harry looked around for someone to talk to There were a few chess games going on, and Harry was about to go sit and watch one of them when he caught sight of a group of people surrounding something in the corner. Severus was also there.

Walking up to the group, he saw they were surrounding a small garden snake, who Harry could tell was extremely annoyed at all the people.

"You're making her nervous," Harry said, and the group turned to look hat him, so Harry decided to clarify. "She's not saying anything, but Anzee moves like that when he's annoyed."

"Anzee?" one of the younger kids asked. Harry guessed second year.

"He's my snake. He's big, though, so he usually stays in my dorm."

"How big?"

"Er . . ."

"I don't know you had a snake," one of the fourth years said. Harry couldn't remember her name. "That's kind of odd, isn't it? You being a Gryffindor and all."

"Well, I am a parselmouth," Harry defended, and he saw his father move to a different part of the room. "I've had him since my 13th birthday."

"Did Professor Snape get it for you? That would make sense, then, since he's a Slytherin," a boy, who was obviously a first year said.

"Not only Slytherins can like snakes!" Harry said. "I really like snakes. And yes, he did get Anzee for me. I was living with him at the time."

"Oh," a few people said.

"Talk to the snake!" someone said, and a bunch of kids agreed. Students from all over the common room had migrated over to the corner they were in to see what was going on.

"Okay," Harry agreed, and walked to the snake, sat down, and picked her up.

"_Hi_," Harry said, and a few kids gasped, causing Harry to roll his eyes.

"_You speak_," said the snake, and Harry automatically nodded. "_Why is everyone around here?_"

"_Are you new here_?" Harry asked. "_They like snakes._"

"_Do they have to crowd?_"

"_I don't know. I'll tell them not to, though_," Harry answered.

"What are you saying?" someone asked.

"She's wondering why everyone is crowding. She doesn't like it," Harry answered, and was about to talk to the snake more when Severus announced that it was time to go. He said goodbye to everyone and the snake before following his father out.

"Can't avoid gathering a crowd, Harry?" Severus teased, and Harry gave him a look.

"I'm tired," Harry answered, ignoring the bait, and they made their way to Severus' rooms.

"Good night," Harry," Severus said before Harry entered his room.

"Good night, dad," Harry answered. Before he went to sleep, though, he searched his book, looking for a certain type of potion. He wasn't sure why, but he had the strongest urge to do so. Before he found it, though, he had fallen asleep.


	18. Turnabout

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**A/N: Check out my other stories if you have time.**

**Thanks to: kat, ****BatteredChild****Yashida****Crazy-Physco****starbright37****littleschoolgirl****cmtaylor531****maraudersbanana****Helkardowen****fifespice****littlesandy****Merry Sparrow****SailorHecate****momocolady****Celebwen Telcontar****Beth5572****Brilliance of the Moon****happinessisHarryPotter****, katey, living-is-easy-with-eyes-closed, ****gizmama1****Ariana-blood-hehe****Serpent91****Elentariel****Alexis8907****kitkat244****Fae Child19****HecateDeMort****brightsidetolife****uknowho****, Arica, Princess of Rivendell for the reviews. Sorry if I missed anyone. **

Enjoy!

**Chapter 18 - Turnabout**

Harry woke up to his father knocking on the door and he answered with a groggy, "Come in!"

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Severus asked, and Harry shrugged after sitting up.

"Tired."

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"I guess so. I don't remember waking up," Harry answered, wanting to lay back down.

"Get dressed and I will retrieve some pepper up potion for you. Hopefully your tiredness is just a side affect from yesterday's events."

"Yeah," Harry answered, pushing the covers away from him to get up. Severus just stood there watching him, and Harry sighed. "I'm not dressing with you in the room," Harry laughed, and his father shook his head as he left. Fifteen minutes and a good shower later, Harry took the potion that Severus handed him.

"I will talk to you later, hopefully with information about the slantim."

"Okay, dad. Bye."

Harry walked out of the dungeons to Great Hall, feeling better with the potion in his system and eager to find that potion he was looking for. He knew he'd feel better after he had eaten, too.

Getting to the Entrance Hall, Harry noticed that it was still early – leave it to Severus to get him up early – so there were few students coming to eat. Harry didn't really want to eat alone, so he was going to go to the Gryffindor common room to wake up Ron, but he was stopped when someone grabbed his wrist. Startled, he grabbed his wand and pointed it whomever the perpetrator was.

"Malfoy!" Harry hissed, ready to curse the Slytherin.

"We need to talk," Malfoy said, letting go of Harry's wrist. Harry shook his head.

"I don't think so. Now, if you excuse me . . ."

"Potter," Malfoy said, and Harry looked at him closely. He sounded desperate. What he said next proved how desperate he was. "Please. I really need to talk to you."

"Well then talk," Harry answered, not wanting to go anywhere with Malfoy. No matter how desperate he sounded, Harry still didn't trust him.

"Not here. Someone my overhear." Harry just looked at Malfoy blankly. To a point, he wanted to go with Malfoy to hear what he had to say. He wanted to believe that Malfoy wanted to help him, but he promised Severus that he would never be alone with him.

"I'm not going with you anywhere," Harry finally answered.

"Fine," huffed Malfoy as he looked around to see who was in the Entrance Hall. At this time, it was empty, and Malfoy dragged Harry behind a suit of armor. "My father is in Azkaban," Malfoy said quietly.

"And that affects me how?" Harry asked sharply.

"Besides the fact that it's your fault he's there? The Dark Lord was supposed to keep him out of Azkaban. And it didn't. I . . . I'm beginning to think that the Dark Lord isn't as . . . good as I thought he was."

"Voldemort? Good? Where would you ever come up with that idea?"

"Well, for one he's getting rid of mudbloods," Malfoy hissed, and Harry had his wand at Malfoy's head again.

"If you want me to listen, Malfoy, you'll refrain from talking like that," Harry hissed back.

"Sorry," Malfoy said quietly. Harry was surprised that he actually did look sorry. "I . . . I don't want to end up like my father, Potter," he continued, whispering. "And I don't know what to do." Harry looked at him sadly. Harry really wanted to believe him.

"I don't know, either," Harry answered. "Do you want me to talk to Dumbledore for you?"

"No!" Malfoy said. "If word gets out, everyone will be after me. I just want someone to talk to, okay?"

"What about Severus?" Harry asked.

"He won't trust me," Malfoy said, looking defeated. "Look, I just need someone to talk to until the time is right. Okay? That's all I'm asking for."

"I'm not going to be with you alone," Harry replied. "I still can't trust you."

"Through letters, then. Please." Harry thought about it. Nothing could go wrong through letters, right? As long as they were checked for curses first."

"Fine, owl me with the school owls. I won't tell anyone."

"Promise?" Malfoy looked scared at that moment, but also relieved.

"Promise," Harry answered, then went to find Ron and Hermione. He wanted to tell them about Malfoy, but decided he couldn't. He did promise.

Twenty minutes later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in the Great Hall eating. Ron and Hermione were arguing over the charms homework, which Ron didn't finish, and Harry was nibbling on toast and sausages as he skimmed each potion in the book. They were all energy potions, but none of them did exactly what he wanted. Many of them were for keeping people awake on not enough sleep, all of them with a variety of affects and how long they worked for.

* * *

Severus watched as Harry and his friends walked into the Great Hall. He was worried when Harry wasn't in the Great Hall when he arrived, but now that he saw Harry just went to the Gryffindor common room to get his friends, he felt relieved.

Severus finished eating at about the same time as Albus, who indicated they needed to talk. Severus nodded and followed after giving a glance at his son, who was still looking through that book. The more he thought about it, the more he wished he didn't lend the book to Harry. It was in the row behind the first row of book on the shelf; he should have never known it was there. The entire situation was unnerving.

Once they got to Albus' office, Severus sat down in one of the chairs as the headmaster brought out a book.

"I found some information on the slantim, but you are not going to be happy with it," Albus said, and Severus gave him a glare. This was not what he was wanting. "There have only been a few reported cases of what you explained happened last evening. In three of those cases, the child was able to keep from 'going' with the slantim."

"What do you mean 'going'?"

"According to what I have read, it appears to be a state of mind the child goes into when the slantim drains the energy, both magical and not, from the child. In all three of these cases, the child had a higher ability of magic and were able to resist. One of the children was thirteen years old, the oldest reported case of this happening, not including Harry."

"According to all books I've read, the slantim stays with a person until they die. Why . . ." Severus trailed off, confused and the mix of facts.

"It is unknown. It is a guess of a few researchers that these particular slantims are more power hungry, but it is a guess that is not provable."

Both adults sat in silence for a while, Severus skimming through the book that Albus had gave him. Finally, Albus spoke up again.

"The two younger children died within two years. The older child died in five," he said quietly, causing Severus to look up from the book sharply.

"What!" he yelled.

"I have talked with Poppy. She suggests keeping his stocked up with energy potions."

"I don't know about that," Severus answered, now understanding something. "Shortly after the incident yesterday, he found one of my hidden energy potion books. Perhaps it is what the slantim wants."

"It probably is," Albus agreed. "But if we do not have him taking energy potions, it is possible that he would die sooner. Poppy would like to take a look at him, but looking at the facts, she believes that without aid of potions, he could die in . . . she estimated five to eight years. Potions should lengthen that until we understand the situation better and find a way to solve it."

"Five years . . ." Severus replied quietly, letting it sink in. "Twenty years old . . ."

"There is a good chance we will find something before then, Severus. We have many resources at our disposal, and more knowledge about what is happening than the people in these cases." Severus just looked at Albus with disbelief.

"And what do I tell Harry? Will this slantim . . . influence him in anything?"

"Tell him what you wish, Severus, he is your son," Albus said sadly. "But I suggest you bring him to Poppy next time you see him. She is excepting Harry."

"I will do that," Severus answered flatly, standing up. "I will keep you informed."

Albus didn't say anything as Severus stalked out of the office.

* * *

"I'll see you two in class," Harry said. He found the potion, and he wanted to get it copied down as soon as he could. They bid him a quick goodbye before Hermione went back to lecturing about what he should know for charms class. Once Harry was out of the Great Hall, and quickened his pace until he reached sight of the portrait guarding the Gyffindor tower, and he broke into a run, ignoring those he nearly ran over to get to his dorm room.

He had to hurry so his friends wouldn't suspect he wasn't going to the room for more than his class materials for the day. Quickly, he hand copied the potion, making sure he had it perfect, then tossed the book in his trunk and pocketed the parchment. Satisfied, he grabbed his bag with his charms things and headed to class. Harry made it just in time for class and sat down next to Neville.

"Almost late, Harry," Neville whispered as Flitwick bounced into the room.

"I know. I couldn't find my assignment," Harry whispered back. He felt bad about lying, but he didn't want anyone to know how important this potion was to him. He didn't know why it was, but there was just something about it that he needed.

* * *

"Harry," Severus said flatly behind Harry during lunch, and Harry turned to give him a questioning look. Did he find out what Harry wanted the potion for? He didn't see how that was possible. Harry shook his head slightly. As small as the potion matter seemed at the moment, for some reason, he couldn't get it out of his head. He figured he should just brew it soon, but he didn't know where to get some of the ingredients. For some reason, he didn't think it was a good idea to ask his father for them. That, and he doubted that he'd have some of the things.

"Are you finished eating?" Severus asked. Harry looked at his plate. He was still hungry, but he could tell his dad really wanted to talk to him, so he shrugged and stood up.

"I can eat more later," he answered. "You want to talk to me?"

"Yes," was Severus' curt reply, and Harry began to get worried. Even in public, Severus was never this verbally rough with him unless something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong, so Harry followed Severus at a rushed pace out of the Great Hall.

Harry was surprised when they arrived at the Hospital Wing.

"Dad? Is someone hurt?"

"Not out here, Harry," Severus answered, entering. Harry continued to follow him and sat on one of the beds when Severus pointed to it. "How do you feel?"

"Fine," Harry answered automatically. "Tired, though."

"Still?" Harry nodded. "Madam Pomfrey will be looking at you in a little bit, but first we need to talk."

"Did you find anything out about the slantim?" Harry asked, standing up. Now that he was looking at Severus closely, he could tell how worried the potions master was.

"Yes. There have only been a few people who have been able to resist 'going' with the slantim, like you did last night. They all ended up dying from loss of energy, to put it simply," he said slowly. It was a few minutes before Harry responded.

"But . . . that wasn't the first time," Harry answered. "I told you that. When I was younger, I was able to come back. And I'm still alive."

That caused Severus to think for a minute. Perhaps something about him is different, Severus thought. It wouldn't be the first time. So much about him doesn't go the way it is expected to.

"I will talk with the headmaster about it. Are you sure you feel fine? Aside from being tired? You haven't felt compelled to do something you wouldn't otherwise?"

Harry didn't answer at first. He wanted the potion, yes, but it wasn't something that would harm him. Despite the fact that a few of the ingredients were most likely dark or rare (Harry hadn't heard of them before this potion, so they were either too dark to talk about in a classroom or too expensive), it would be to help him, not harm him, so there was nothing wrong about that, was there?

"Not that I can think of," Harry decided to answer.

"Alright," Severus nodded, taking Harry's silence as an honest attempt to think of something. "I will find Madam Pomfrey." Harry groaned as Severus got up and left the infirmary, and groaned again when he came back with the mediwitch.

Once she checked over Harry and proclaimed that, magically and physically, he was fine except that he appeared to be low on iron in his blood and seemed to be lacking enough sleep, she told him it was probably because of the slantim, and he should continue to eat as much as he could and continue taking pepper up potion (at the least) two times a day. And come to the hospital wing three times a week to make sure his energy level stays at a normal level.

She obviously wasn't taking any chances. Still, Harry didn't want to continue visiting the mediwitch. He realized that he should be worried about what the slantim could be doing to him, but he wasn't. He felt fine, besides from being tired, and he didn't die from the first attack. Harry figured that they were just being paranoid.

One look at Severus, though, and Harry knew he'd continue going to the infirmary without complaint. He promised his dad that he would behave, and that he was going to do, he swore to himself, thinking about Sirius.

"Do you have the book I lent you? I would like to look through it to see if I can find anything to help you," Severus said once the witch left.

"It's in my trunk, I think. I didn't want to carry it around too long because some of the potions had some dark ingredients in them."

"Very few of them," Severus said, giving his son a glare. "But that was why it was behind the other books." Harry had the grace to look embarrassed. "Bring it later today," he said, giving him a bottle of pepper up that Pomfrey left, "and go eat quickly before potions."

* * *

Harry walked from Gryffindor tower to go to Severus' office, but everyone seemed in a panic. Confused, Harry walked even faster, wanting to know what was going on.

"Harry! Oh, Harry, I'm glad we found you!" he heard Hermione from behind, sounding rushed. "It's terrible! Everyone's saying Dumbledore's gone!"

"What?!" Harry yelled, turning around to see Ron and Hermione. "When? How?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with Umbridge. The portraits are taking about how he was under arrest for something, and how he escaped," Ron said. Harry turned and ran as fast as he could toward the dungeons.

"Harry, wait!" Hermione yelled, but Harry didn't listen. Dumbledore couldn't be gone! He made it down to Severus' office in record time, his two friends not far behind him. He pounded on the door, then entered, glad it wasn't locked. Severus looked up from whatever he was doing at his desk and gave him a worried look. He entered and left the door open for Hermione and Ron, but they just stood in the doorway until Severus beckoned them in.

"Close the door," he ordered, and Hermione closed it carefully and silently. All three students looked at the potions master expectantly. "I assume this is about the headmaster?" All three nodded slowly.

"They say he's gone."

"He's safe, but he cannot show himself for awhile," Severus offered.

"How do you know that?" Ron asked, suspicious, and both Harry and Hermione gave him warning looks.

"Order members have ways of contacting each other in ways to go unnoticed. He left me instructions."

"Oh," Ron said.

"So . . . who's going to run the school?" Hermione asked, and Harry dreaded the answer. There is no way it would be McGonagall with Umbridge as High Inquisitor.

"Umbridge has been declared the new headmistress by the Ministry of Magic," Severus said flatly.

"Her? Oh, no," Ron said, and everyone in the room silently agreed with him.

"Book," Severus told Harry, holding out his hand and Harry handed it over after fishing it out of his bag. "The headmas . . . Albus told me to tell you three to behave. Don't do anything that could get you in trouble. With her in charge of the school, it might not be as safe as it was before."

"Okay," they agreed. "I'm coming down later," Harry continued. "After dinner." Severus nodded, and the three students left.

"I can't believe he's gone," Hermione said.

"It's only temporary," Harry said forcibly. "Once whatever this is gets sorted out, he'll be back."

"And besides, he's still in contact with the Order," Ron said.

"Yeah," Hermione said dubiously. "I really hope so."


	19. Preparations

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**A/N: Check out my other stories if you have time. Sorry for the short chapter and the very long time it took to update, but I hate writing transition chapters, which this is. More action next chapter, I promise.**

**Thanks to: ****Catti666****Madame Anjali****applesollie****starbright37****alicat54****, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, ****HecateDeMort****Serpent91****Arafel2****excessivelyperky****Beth5572****Fae Child19****cmtaylor531****Ariana-blood-hehe****Kathrina CH****, living-is-easy-with-eyes-closed, ****SailorHecate****BatteredChild****ShadowedHand****, Heather Haverstick, ****Lady-Weasley123987****honore****PeachDancer82****momocolady****G.L.M****brightsidetolife****, Alexis8907, ****Fizzing-Whizbee-nz****Crazy-Physco****, and kat for the reviews. Sorry if I missed anyone. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 19 - Preparations**

"Malfoy!" Harry said, surprised by the appearance of the blonde boy.

"Potter," Malfoy greeted in a respectable fashion. "What are you doing?"

Harry shrugged, wondering how Malfoy found him in this room.

"Potion," he answered, not wanting to really explain.

"Hmm," Malfoy said. "Without Professor Snape?"

"He won't mind," Harry answered sharply.

"Then why are you brewing it _here_?"

"So no one bugs me, although since _you're_ here, it defeats the point," he snapped.

"I could help you, you know. I _am_ better at potions than you are. What's the potion, anyway?"

"Just an energy potions," Harry said. "I've been tired lately, and Pepper Up hasn't been working very well. Severus suggested it," he lied. Malfoy looked over the parchment that the potion was written on, noticing that there was no name on it.

"Where are you? Would you like me to help?" Malfoy asked.

"Why?" Harry asked suspiciously, and Malfoy shrugged.

"Just thought I'd ask to be nice. You said you'd be willing to talk to me about . . . you know."

"I just don't get why you don't talk to Severus or Dumbledore," Harry said. "They can help you."

"Well, then you don't understand!" Malfoy spat. "I'll go to them eventually, but . . . my mom . . . I can't right now," he continued, and Harry suddenly understood. He didn't think he could turn his back on Severus anymore, even if his adopted father was doing something horrible. They _were_ family. Harry continued working on his potion for a few minutes in silence before turning to the Slytherin again.

"You can start cutting up those rat hearts," he suggested, and Malfoy shrugged once again before starting to correctly cut up the hearts for this type of potion. After finishing the small job, both boys sat in silence before Malfoy spoke up again.

"So . . . how did you and Professor Snape become . . . family?" Malfoy stuttered, and Harry couldn't help but wonder why his nemesis was so nervous. Deciding to ignore the behavior for now, Harry started to slowly add the cut up pieces of hearts to the potion while trying to decided what to tell Malfoy. He didn't exactly trust the Slytherin, Severus' warnings still strong in his mind, but Harry had the feeling the Malfoy was being honest, so he decided to be honest with him back . . . to a point.

"My relatives left me alone for a few weeks, and Severus checked up on me – Dumbledore's orders, I think – and Dumbledore made Snape take me in for the summer," Harry answered, satisfied that he wasn't giving away anything that the boy could use against him.

"Oh. So it didn't want to at first?" Malfoy asked, and Harry had to laugh.

"No. He didn't like it at all. I think he wanted Dumbledore to 'deal' with me. You know what he thought of me for years one and two."

"Oh, yeah," Malfoy laughed, the energy in the room suddenly becoming lighter. "He hated you. Anytime anyone brought up your name in the common room, and he was there, he scowl and get all angry. It's weird how it changed, though. But, your snake, . . . what her name?"

"Him," Harry answered. "He gets real testy when someone calls him a 'her'. His name is Ohanzee, but I call his Anzee." Malfoy nodded.

"Could I meet him?" Malfoy asked, and Harry thought for a minute, not being able to come up with a reason that he couldn't.

"Sure. It will be awhile before I have to do anything else with the potion. I'll go get him now."

"Alright," Malfoy nodded, and Harry left quickly to go find Anzee. It didn't take long, since he was curled up in front of the fire in Severus' rooms, sleeping. He was quite annoyed to be awakened, though.

"_I want you to meet someone,_" Harry hissed.

"_Who? I've already met all your friends, and I doubt you've made anymore,_" Anzee replied scathingly, and Harry glared at his snake friend.

"_Not really a friend. He just wants to meet you. It's Malfoy_."

"_Malfoy? That human you hate?_"

"_Yes. But he's not turning out to be so bad_."

"_I don't believe you, but I'll meet him. Maybe to bite him_."

"_No! Don't bit him, Anzee._"

"_Alright, I won't bite him, but he better not try to hurt you_."

"_He won't_," Harry replied, picking the snake up and hurrying along to the room Malfoy was waiting in. When he got there, Malfoy was sitting on the floor looking over one of the potion books Harry had in the room.

"Wow, he's big," Malfoy said, seeing Anzee immediately.

"Yeah, he's six feet now. He was smaller when I got him," Harry replied, and Malfoy looked nervous as Anzee slithered down Harry's leg and up to him.

"He's not dangerous, is he?"

"Not unless you provoke him," Harry said, getting a laugh at the Slytherin's nervousness. "But he's safe. I was thinking of bringing him to the Slytherin common room next time Severus brings me there."

"_He smells funny_," Anzee hissed.

"_What do you mean?_" Harry asked, worried. Last time Anzee said that, it was about someone who was very mean to Harry.

"_He smells like . . . potions. Like your human, but only one kind. I've smelled it before . . . one that is used on hair?_" Anzee said, and Harry laughed.

"What's so funny?" Malfoy asked.

"He smells whatever potion you use on your hair," Harry answered, still laughing. That would make sense that it smelled weird to the snake, because both Harry and Severus had taken to using muggle shampoos most of the year, which they buy during the summer holidays. Harry insisted it smelled better, because the potions always smelled horrid. "He thinks it smells weird."

"And what is so weird about that? I am sure whatever you use is similar what I use."

"Probably not," Harry admitted. "I use muggle stuff."

"Why?" Malfoy asked, giving him a weird look. "That's . . . horrible."

"No, it's not. Even if it doesn't work as well as a potion, it still smells better."

"It's still wrong, Potter," Malfoy said, refusing to relent and he froze when Anzee started slithering up his leg. Soon, Anzee positioned himself so he was face to face with Malfoy. Anzee hissed-mumbled something incoherent, then reached his body toward Harry, who allowed Anzee to slither back onto him.

"_I think he's okay, besides smelling weird,_" Anzee stated, then ordered to be brought back so he could go back to sleep.

"I'll be back," Harry said after checking the potion. "I'm bringing Anzee back." Malfoy just nodded.

Two hours later, both Malfoy and Harry were putting the finished potion into small, individual dose vials, which Harry gave a few to Malfoy and put the rest in a wooden box after he took one.

"I must be going before Crabbe and Goyle begin to wonder where I am. Those two can't do anything without my help," Malfoy sighed, then left before Harry could reply.

Feeling better because of the potion, Harry cleaned up the mess before heading to Gryffindor tower to put away the vials and heading to the Great Hall for dinner. He was about ten minutes late, so he knew that Hermione and Ron where wondering where he was.

Entering the Great Hall, Harry automatically checked the Head Table. Of course, Dumbledore was missing and at his place at the table of Umbridge. It had been over a month since Dumbledore had to flee, the time of winter holidays quickly approaching, and Hogwarts had steadily gone down hill. No longer was fun on weekends and between classes because of Umbridge's Educational Decrees, but Harry was extremely grateful that quidditch was still allowed.

Despite Umbridge, DA was going very well. They were able to keep it a secret and even added two members: two seventh years who knew Fred and George very well.

Above all, Harry was looking forward to the holidays. Severus was keeping in contact with the parents of the kids in the DA plans were being made for the kids to stay at Prince Manor. Severus had said the main reason for this was because Dumbledore was suspecting something foul about Umbridge and wasn't sure Hogwarts would continue being safe for the students who wanted to (eventually) actively fight against Voldemort. Apparently, precautions were being made, but Severus refused to tell Harry _why_.

Severus nodded shortly at Harry, recieved a smile from most of the rest of the staff, and got a glare from Umbridge. Before sitting down, Harry shot a glance at the Slytherin table to find Malfoy looking like he was arguing with his two 'friends', and he was about to dismiss it when Malfoy stood up and walked gracefully but quickly toward Harry.

"I don't mean to intrude," the blonde stated shortly, "but it appears I'm not very welcome at my own table."

Thinking for a brief second, Harry nodded before heading past the tables to Gryffindor table, Malfoy in tow, and a bunch of glares from everyone else. Harry and Malfoy sat down and were blatantly ignored by the Gryffindors.

_They'll get used to it_, Harry thought, eating his meal quietly.


	20. Well Hidden Secrets

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**A/N: I'm still on Hiatus with this story – sorry! – but as several people were asking for a chapter, I decided to write this one, as I've had it planned for awhile, anyway. Eventually, I will be back to a regular update schedule, but I want to get the entire story planned, first. I'm also working on rewriting parts and editing.**

**Oh, and there will be no official ships in this story. Just a forewarning for future chapters.**

**Thanks to: ****witchsbroom, ****loveseverussnape, ****heksie, clarinetguardgeek07, ****Flensa, ****Helkardowen, ****Azuredragon, ****b, ****Shinigami-Sama1, ****ddamato, ****CosmicEssence, skellingtonlover, ****Elentariel, Aisling-Siobhan, Aisling-Siobhan, ****Makurayami Ookami, ****MysticSong1978, lina239, Pip3, Swiffer, robin and marion forever, eurogirl14, Bloody Serpent 2, starbright37, Catti666, ****StarMistress2, ****6tigercubs, CatWriter, Serpent91, Alexis8907, cmtaylor531, fifespice, Crazy-Physco, SailorHecate, ****Ariana-blood-hehe, ****dancefreak92, Fizzing-Whizbee-nz, momocolady, Beth5572, asdfjkl;, HecateDeMort, ****bandgeekforlife, nekoyoukia, ****ahappyjtm, ****Fae Child19 and ****living-is-easy-with-eyes-closed****for the reviews. Sorry if I missed anyone. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 20** - **Well Hidden Secrets**

It was a week exactly from the day that Malfoy started sitting at the Gryffindor table, but Harry had yet to ask why since Malfoy always avoided questions put toward him on the subject. He didn't want to chase Malfoy away.

He was able to convince Malfoy to talk to Dumbledore, though, and after a bit of persuasion (and an order from the Ministry for Malfoy to stay away from his parents because of "dark influence", which seemed to have gone though the system a bit too fast for the lack of evidence they had), Malfoy was officially staying at Prince Manor for the holidays until things got sorted out.

Harry was surprised that Severus was very reluctant to allow it. He thought that he would be glad that Malfoy had declared himself of the Light side, but Severus always replied that he should remain "wary" around the Slytherin. Harry, stubborn as ever, wanted to believe that Draco was telling the truth.

Right now, it was another DA meeting, and Harry had convinced Draco to come. Severus was there, also, and instead of practicing defense, the few members they had were sitting around a table the Room summoned, talking about what they were going to do.

"But what if Umbridge guesses who the Secret Keeper is?" Hermione said, giving a pointed look at Harry. "If she suspects anything, it would be quite obvious!"

"I'm not going to tell anyone!" Harry exclaimed, angry at being accused of something such as that.

"There are ways of getting the truth from someone," Draco interrupted. "The Truth Potion, for one."

"That is correct," Severus said. "Perhaps a change of Secret Keepers _would_ be a good idea. Harry," he consoled. "Do you understand why?"

"Yes," he grumbled after a few minutes, slumping in his chair.

"Who would we have, though?" Fred asked.

"It can't be someone obvious," George agreed.

"I could be the Secret Keeper," Draco suggested.

"Yeah, because _that_ wouldn't be bloody obvious," spat Ron.

"Language, Mr. Weasley," Snape said flatly, and Ron and the courtesy to look sorry before continuing.

"You've been spending so much time with Harry," he said bitterly, "that of _course_ people would think that you might be a Secret Keeper."

"But I _am_ a Slytherin," Draco said haughtily. "I could easily persuade them I'm not."

"I thought you just said that there are ways of finding out secrets," Hermione said in a matter-of-fact manner. "They could just as easily use the Truth Potion on you, or find some other way to get the information from you. In fact, we should be really careful around each other, too, because someone could always use Polyjuice to impersonate one of us and then get the information by simply talking to each of the members!"

"I don't talk much to any of you outside of D.A.," a quiet voice said, and the room turned to look at Susan Bones. "No one would really suspect me. And I can keep a secret very well," she said, and waited as the room thought about that.

"You would make a good Secret Keeper," Luna said airily. "You don't talk to us outside of the D.A. very much, or inside. I think it is a good idea."

The room shifted nervously at the uncomfortable statement, and Susan blushed, embarrassed.

"Well, her best friends aren't in the D.A.," Hermione said, trying to cover up the uncomfortable feeling that settled in the room. "Anyway, I think that's a good idea."

Everyone mumbled their agreement, and Severus nodded, telling both Harry and Susan to come to him. They both blushed as Severus told them to face each other and hold the other's right hand. He then tapped his wand on their hands and mumbled something and the entire room watched as a snake-like light transferred itself from Harry's hand to Susan's.

"It is done," Severus said, and they both stared at each other for a moment before taking their respective seats at the table. "I will be leaving now. Finish the meeting, and leave discreetly."

Severus left, and suddenly everyone began talking at once, a flutter of nerves and excitement running through the air.

IIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"What's this?" Hermione asked. It was another D.A. meeting two weeks from the last. It was the first time that they were actually able to get together, and all of them were more afraid of Umbridge now than ever. She was becoming extremely specific with all her Education Decrees, and just finding a time in their days that weren't scheduled with something was even harder.

In addition to not finding time for D.A. meetings, Harry was forced to forget about his energy potion for the moment (not wanting Severus to brew it) as his first try at it was ruined. He had to get the ingredients again, too . . . something he would be able to do until the holiday, which was, thankfully, coming up fast.

"Something from Dumbledore," Harry answered, opening the parcel. "A more discreet way of contacting each other or an adult in case something happens. More reliable, too. Not that the coins weren't reliable!" Harry said, defending himself again Hermione's sudden death-glance. "But Severus said that these will allow some of Dumbledore's people to keep track of us in case something happens."

"Like what?" asked Ginny.

"I'm not sure," Harry answered and he pulled out a handful of feather-light necklaces. He chose one of the identical ones for himself and handed the rest around.

"That won't be discreet!" Ron said. "They're necklaces!"

Luna was the first to put her's on, but around her ankle instead of her neck, triple wrapping it, and Susan gasped when it suddenly fitted itself and disappeared.

"Of course," Hermione said, putting her own on. "They're invisible! Do you know who else has one, Harry?"

"No," he answered as everyone else put on a necklace around the place of their choosing.

"Well, do you know how they work?" Hermione asked.

"No," he answered again, not finding a note in the box.

"Maybe they work themselves," Luna said. "Aren't you going to put yours on, Draco Malfoy?" she asked. Draco, who was looking at the necklace, looked up.

"Yes, of course," he said. "I was just looking at it. I haven't seen one of these before." He then put it on around his wrist.

"Maybe Dumbledore made them himself," George said.

"Would make sense," Fred agreed.

"Harry," Ron said suddenly. "Don't you have a detention with Umbridge? It's almost six now," he pointed out.

"Oh! Right," he said, suddenly nervous. "I'll be going then." He stood, his movements sort of rough, and he walked out of the Room of Requirement. It wasn't the detention itself that made him nervous, but rather what how Severus would react to him getting one – with Umbridge, at that. He wasn't going to be happy.

It's not like it was his fault, anyway. Harry hated it when people believed something in which every bit of evidence proved otherwise – like Voldemort being back. Cedric was dead and Voldemort killed him! Of _course_ Voldemort was back.

But Harry overheard some people talking outside the Great Hall about how he was crazy, and that there was no way 'He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named' was back, and Harry began to argue with them. Of course, Umbridge just _had_ to overhear, and gave him a detention immediately before explaining to the rest of the over-hearers that Harry was just seeking attention and lying.

Harry hoped it wasn't the blood quill again. Yes, he did tell Severus that he could handle it – and he could! – but he hated it. Also, he didn't know if Severus told anyone about it, and if he did and Umbridge was made to stop, she might have learned what happened and punish him even worse.

No, he'd rather have a detention with his father.

He arrived at the spare classroom that Umbridge was holding her detentions, which was open. Still, he knocked on the doorframe and was immediately greeted by an extremely pink Umbridge.

"Come in," she said. "You'll be doing something different for your detention today, as lines certainly didn't . . . sink in," she said, sounding _annoyed_. She pointed, then, to a cauldron in the corner of the room. A pewter cauldron; black, and much larger than your standard size cauldron. "You'll be cleaning _that_. All the supplies you need are over there."

Harry walked over to the oversized cauldron (Severus had one this big) with relief. Cleaning one cauldron? How bad could that be? Arriving in the corner, he found the cauldron's insides still slightly smoking, although when he put on the cleaning gloves (which were definitely _not_ dragon) the cauldron wasn't hot at all. Neither were the smoking contents. Once again weary, as Severus was always giving him extra warnings about potions, he took the too-small scrubbing brush, doused it with the cleaning potion and gently rubbed the inside once. Immediately, there was a hissing sound, and something spit off and landed on Harry's exposed arm.

"Ah!" he let out a yelp of pain, and he immediately looked over by the supplies to see if there were any decent cleaning gloves. There were none. Seemingly at a loss, Harry just stood there for a moment before deciding something. He took the cleaning potion and squirted it around the top edge and let gravity pull it down to cover the insides as he stood back and watched. He waited for the hissing to stop, and it did, but the smoking seemed worse – instead of neutralizing whatever was in there, the cleaning potion was making it worse!

Deciding on something else, something neutral, he filled a bucket with water and dumped it in. _That _seemed to help a little, so he rinsed off the brush and began scrubbing.

An hour later, the cauldron was becoming clean, but the gloves that were supposed to be protecting his hands were mostly torn and dissolved, showing more skin than the gloves were protecting. Likewise, his hands were beginning to crack and bleed, and he had to stop cleaning every few minutes to rinse them off, stinging more and more every time water touched them.

Finally, two hours later, the cauldron was clean, although the gloves were completely gone and Harry had to keep his hands wrapped in a towel to avoid dripping blood everywhere. Just glad it was done with, Harry called Umbridge over and she walked smugly to him, a long, dragon-hide glove in her hand. Quickly, she put on the glove on her left arm, but not before Harry noticed, with shock, what was there. He took a step back as Umbridge stuck her hand into the cauldron. She pulled it out quickly.

"That will do, Mr. Potter," she said. "You may leave now. Perhaps this will teach you the lesson you so very much need to learn.

Harry nodded before leaving as quickly as he could. He learned a lesson, alright, but not the one Umbridge was intending. As soon as he turned the corner, he made his way to the dungeons as fast as he could with his hands bound up as they were, and . . . he found himself outside Severus' office door, unable to open it with his hands. Awkwardly, he knocked on the door with his elbow, hoping his father would hear it – hoping his father was _there_. Thankfully, after the second time knocking, Severus answered and Harry pushed his way in.

"Umbridge is a Death Eater!" Harry said as soon as the door was closed. Severus didn't pay attention, though, as his eyes were trained on the towel that was wrapped around his son's hands.

"What happened?" he asked, slowly taking the towel away, and Harry cringed from the pain. Severus gasped and covered the hands with the towel again before dragging Harry into his rooms and through the floo into the hospital wing.

"Pomfrey!" he yelled. "Pomfrey!" She came out immediately, and seeing Harry, she had him sit on a bed and he closed his eyes in an attempt to block out the pain as Madam Pomfrey took away the towel and examined his hands.

"What did this?" she asked, and it took Harry a few moments to register that she had asked him a question.

"Umbridge . . . detention . . . cauldron . . ." was all he could answer. The pain was getting worse now that his hands were exposed to air. Pomfrey then cast a charm and handed Severus a small vial which was filled only a quarter of the way of some odd-looking, murky liquid. Severus examined it while Madam Pomfrey gave Harry a potion for the pain. It helped immensely, enough that Harry was able to open his eyes and ignore the pain that was still pulsing through his hands.

"A neutralizer should be safe," Severus said, and the mediwitch moved to get some immediately. Without hesitation, a deep bowl was placed on a table next to the bed, filled with a green-gray potion, and Madam Pomfrey dunked his hands and wrists in suddenly.

The relief was instant, and Harry let out a sigh. Pomfrey instructed in to keep his hands in there until she came back, and when she left, his dad sat down next to him and put his arm around his waist.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly, and Harry leaned on him a little bit.

"Better now," he said. "But she is! I saw the Mark!"

Severus was silent for a little bit, rubbing his son's back comfortingly and thinking about what they were going to do.

"Stay away from her," Severus said quietly. "No more detentions. You don't have class with her anymore, so that shouldn't be a problem, _right_?" he asked, and Harry gave a little shrug. "I know it's hard for you right now, what with the wizarding world saying you are wrong, but just ignore them. You must _choose_ your battles, Harry, choose them carefully. Find another way to let the wizarding world and the school know that the Dark Lord is here without bringing attention to yourself. You are cunning enough, when you want to be."

Harry gave his dad a small, sad smile at the compliment and was about to ask how when Madam Pomfrey came back, several potion bottles floating in front of her, and took his hands out of the potion they were soaking in to examine them.

"Several layers of skin were taken off," Pomfrey huffed, as Harry refused to look at his hands. Although they were better, they still ached and were still slightly bleeding. He moved them a little bit, and it felt strange and stiff. Not painful, like before, thanks to the pain reliever, but . . . like they really weren't his.

Madam Pomfrey lifted another potion to his lips and Harry drank it automatically. She then mixed several liquids together – Harry wasn't sure if they were potions or what – and he was instructed to put in hands into the new bowl. He was allowed to take them out a minutes later and the mediwitch examined them again.

"They should be completely healed in an hour, Mr. Potter," she said. "Just lay back for a little bit and try to sleep; it will help the process along."

"I would prefer to take him back to my room," Severus interrupted. "In case the headmistress stops by. If they do not heal properly, I will bring him right back."

The witch looked as if she was about to argue, but she finally nodded.

"Perhaps that will be for the best," she said, choosing not to say anything else on the matter, ushering them toward the floo they arrived from and handing Harry a cloth to protect his hands.

In Severus' rooms, he told Harry to sit on the couch. He watched as his father left the room for a few minutes, coming back in with nothing more than he left with.

"How can someone in the Ministry be a Death Eater?" Harry asked as Severus sat down across from him.

"It's possible that she isn't," Severus replied, and Harry gave him an unbelieving look.

"But she has the Dark Mark!"

"She could have been under the Imperious curse at the time," was the answer, and Harry shook his head.

"She sure _acts_ like a Death Eater!" Harry said, raising up his red but healing hands. "Why are you defending her?"

"I am not," Severus answered. "I am thinking, so be silent." They were silent for a minute before his father spoke up again. "Do you have the necklace on?" Harry nodded.

"Everyone does," Harry answered.

"I wonder why no one was alerted to the torture, then," Severus mumbled.

"How do they work?"

"We weren't told."

"Well, maybe they're need-based or something. But about Umbridge again . . . she works for the Ministry! For Fudge! What if Fudge is a Death Eater?"

"He is not," Severus replied.

"Fine, if you say so, but . . . her Dark Mark is visible, so if she _wasn't_ a Death Eater, wouldn't she be worried?"

"Yes," Severus answered. "She should."

"So you think she's working for Voldemort?"

"She could be. It would explain her methods. And before you ask," Severus said as Harry looked as he was going to talk. "Albus knows. I just told him."

"How?"

"You do not need to know that."

Harry huffed and pulled out his D.A. coin – he really didn't know how to use the necklace – and changed the date to tonight, before curfew, a little message that said as soon as they could. The meeting shouldn't take long.

"I'm going to the Room of Requirement," Harry said. "We're aren't going to be practicing spell, or anything, but . . ."

"Don't stay out after curfew," Severus warned, and Harry nodded.

"We won't," Harry answered.

"And careful of your hands."

IIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

It was nearly twenty minutes before everyone arrived, Draco the last one in, and Harry started the meeting immediately with the most obvious way to get their attention.

"Umbridge is a Death Eater," Harry said, and everyone looked at him with disbelief. "We don't know if she still is, but she has the Dark Mark. She could be working for Voldemort."

"I thought she worked for Fudge?" Ginny asked.

"Or Voldemort has his people in the Ministry. It is possible that they have impersonators. It might not be the real Umbridge, or maybe the Ministry is already under his control." Luna said airily, and for a few moments, everyone looked around at each other with scared eyes.

"We have to warn people!" Susan said, and almost everyone agreed and started talking among each other.

"It's not like anyone would believe us," Hermione pointed out above the talk.

"Don't do anything that could get you a detention with Umbridge," Harry said. "My detention today involved scrubbing out a cauldron that had something in it that dissolved my hands!" he said, showing his almost healed hands to the rest of the room. "We _do_ need to let people know, but my Dad said we need to do it carefully, without bringing attention to ourselves."

"A newspaper would work," George suggested.

"We could print our own!" Fred said. "No one would ever have to know it was put out there by us."

"That could work," Ron agreed. "Spread it secretly. Give the real news about what is happening with the war."

"We would have to find out from Professor Snape what we are allowed to print," Hermione said. "And we would have to find a way to print it, unless we would do it hand-written. But that would be too-easily traced."

"The Room could supply a printing press," Luna said, "unless we talk to my father." She dazed off into thought, letting the others around her talk.

"We can't contact anyone outside of us," Hermione said. "Too dangerous. And we wouldn't be able to bring anything out of the room that was made here."

Luna, brought out of her daze, looked at Hermione with a dreamy smile.

"We bring our own ink and paper, of course," she replied. "And we could make the ink special, so no one would wonder why we are buying so much of it. I make my own ink a lot, anyway. It smells a lot nicer than the store bought kind."

After that was decided, they left one at a time, Harry last, to make it back to their common rooms before curfew, all of them having a very good feeling about their decision.


End file.
